Bingo: I am counting this book for the “Borrow” square on my Bingo card, because I borrowed it from my local library via the Libby app.
Sybel, a teenage wizard, has the ability to summon and control animals. She has inherited what is essentially a nature preserve for mythical beasts, where she spends her days caring for poetic boars, magical cats, and majestic dragons, and attempting to summon the legendary white bird known as the Liralen. She has no use for other humans, until one day a strange man named Coren arrives at her door with a baby, begging Sybel to care for and protect the boy. Reluctantly, she agrees to take in the child, and begins to learn how to love another human. Twelve years later, Coren returns, and Sybel must decide if she is able to open her heart yet again.
This book is an absolutely gorgeous piece of high fantasy. McKillip’s prose is lush and elegant, giving the book the feel of an ancient legend. Sybel is a fascinating protagonist; she is competent but naive, prickly yet vulnerable, and kind but manipulative. She is deeply unlikable in some ways, but her journey to understanding how to connect with others while retaining her independence and sense of self is compelling. The secondary characters are also a lot of fun, from Maelga, Sybel’s onion-loving witch neighbor, to Coren, the swoon-worthy redhead whose generosity of heart breaks through Sybel’s guarded exterior. This a really lovely book that sweeps the reader into its fantastical world.