Godlike Powers and the Young Protagonist

Joanna Bourne, Historical Romance

I read Middlegame by Seanan McGuire over these last few days and enjoyed it. An intricate book with good and interesting worldbuilding. Fantasy action adventure — is that a thing? Mythos roadtrip?
Interesting, anyway. It’s set partly in Berkeley.

Further thoughts:
The protagonists are enduring and brave. Appealing. I like them and want to read them.
Tunnelling down into the book in an analytic manner, though, the two protagonists feel lacking in agency. In part this is because they are children for some of the book.
But I find them oddly incurious about the magic they work.
Other people bestow magic upon them. Others give or withhold knowledge, lie to them, manipulate them emotionally, menace them, rescue them and tell them where to go and what to do. 

There is a flavor of  European folk tale about the storytelling. The simplified motivation and characterization that is the oral tradition.
When I’m in this traditional storytelling mode I accept those ancient and honorable story conventions, and do not ask myself if illiterate woodcutter’s sons and naive goose girls make good and wise kings and queens at the end.

But in contemporary urban fantasy . . .  the real world setting and conventions make me ask myself how the young adult protagonists will deal with the mantle of absolute power that’s been thrust upon them.

The kindle edition of Middlegame seems pricey to me, so you might suggest your library buy it. McGuire writes several series. Rosemary and Rue is the start of the October Daye books.

Checking out library books supports funding for the library and it encourages them to buy more of your favorite authors. If you drop favorable mentions and reviews on the internet that will also support your bestie authors.

RITA-winning author Joanna Bourne writes historical fiction set in Revolutionary and Napoleonic France and Regency England. It was a time of love and sacrifice, clashing ideals, and really cool clothing.