An Affair of Poisons

Gr 9 Up—This debut novelist manages to set the tone, introduce the characters, and kill the King of France all in the first chapter. Seventeen-year-old Mirabelle has followed in her father's footsteps, as the Alchemist for the Shadow Society (a group led by her mother that brews curatives for the people of France). But when Mirabelle is tricked into making a deadly poison for King Louis XIV, her world is turned upside down as her mother makes a play for the throne. After his father is poisoned, Josse, the king's bastard son manages to help his siblings escape and go into hiding. In alternating chapters, readers follow Mirabelle's journey to righting the wrong she never meant to commit and Josse's path to finding out where he fits into the royal family. Teens will appreciate this historical novel with a hint of magic about a time period that has not been overly explored. Though a bit gory at times, Thorley's descriptions do not go over the top, but leave readers with just enough detail to set the scene. Even the obvious romance that develops manages to add to the plot and doesn't overpower it.