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YA Book Reccs: Keeper of the Mist by Rachel Neumeier

Now that you've read The Princess Who Knew the Truth as an ebook (or are waiting for your paperback copy to arrive), what can you read next?

One of my favorite authors is Rachel Neumeier. Neumeier originally worked with a traditional publisher, but in recent years she's been successful publishing indie SF and fantasy. She writes both YA and adult novels. A LOT of YA and adult novels. Seriously, how does she write so much and so well, so quickly?

One of my favorites of her YA novels is The Keeper of the Mist. Keri is a teenage baker in a tiny kingdom that's hidden from its enemies by magical mists around its border. But when the king dies after sabotaging the mists, his counsellors pass over his three peculiar sons and give the kingdom (with its growing enemy-empire problems) to his illegitimate daughter. That is, they give it to Keri.


Keri doesn't want to be queen, but even less does she want her home to be destroyed. With the help of her resourceful best friend and a grumpy ex-friend who always has her back, she has to win over her brothers, maybe persuade a foreign prince into an alliance, and somehow repair the magical mists--all before the mage-emperor of the Extremely Evil Empire decides to attack.

Seriously. Such a fun book. It also includes one of my favorite themes, which appears in many of Neumeier's books: namely, that very different people can work together if they have integrity and humility.

Ages: Let's say 12 and up? I shared a copy with a cabin of 7th graders and they really liked it.

Christian? No.

This is a standalone novel, but if you like it, I recommend also Neumeier's City in the Lake (especially if you love fairy tale vibes), The White Road of the Moon (note that there are a lot of ghosts in this one), and The Mountain of Kept Memory (for more young royals negotiating with one empire while staving off another). She has many more YA books, but these three standalones have vibes the most similar to Keeper of the Mist.


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