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Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale
 
 

Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale (Paperback)

by Holly Black (Author) "Kaye spun down the worn, gray planks of the board-walk ..." (more)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (69 customer reviews)
List Price: CDN$ 10.50
Price: CDN$ 9.45 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details
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Frequently Bought Together

Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale + Valiant: A Modern Tale of Faerie + Ironside: A Modern Faery's Tale
Total List Price: CDN$ 31.50
Price For All Three: CDN$ 28.35

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Product Description

From Amazon.com

Sixteen-year-old Kaye Fierch is not human, but she doesn't know it. Sure, she knows she's interacted with faeries since she was little--but she never imagined she was one of them, her blond Asian human appearance only a magically crafted cover-up for her true, green-skinned pixie self. First-time author Holly Black explores Kaye's self-discovery and dual worlds in her riveting, suspenseful novel Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale. The book has its faults: it slips into shock-value mode; the descriptions are often overwritten (sunset on the water looks like the sun slit his wrists in a bathtub); the language is overly, unnecessarily explicit; and the writing often unpolished. Still, the story's pull is undeniable, and readers under its spell will be hard-pressed to put the book down.

The novel begins in a bar in Philly, where Kaye's alcoholic rock-singer mother's boyfriend tries to kill her. For their own safety, mother and daughter quickly move back to grandma's on the New Jersey shore where Kaye grew up. This ugly turn of events was all rigged by the Faerie world, as it turns out, a world Black describes in deliciously vivid, if rather overblown, detail. Kaye, a drinking, smoking, foul-mouthed high school dropout in the land of mortals, soon finds herself embroiled--as a human sacrifice, no less--in a battle between Faerieland's Seelie and more malevolent Unseelie courts. The beautiful, mysterious knight Roiben, torn between worlds himself, falls in love with Kaye--the brave, clever changeling--against his better judgment. Throughout the electrifying journey to the horrific underworld of this modern faerie fantasy, teen readers will relate to a hard-luck tough girl who feels alienated, discovers her best qualities in the worst of circumstances, and finally finds a place between worlds where she can feel at home. (Ages 13 and older) --Karin Snelson --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.



From Publishers Weekly

Tripping the dark fantastic with newcomer Black means pixie dust may very well include blood spatter, sharp thorns and bits of broken glass. At the center of this edgy novel is Kaye Fierch, a 16-year-old "Asian blonde" who spends most of her time taking care of a would-be rock star mom. When her mom's latest boyfriend turns homicidal, they return to Gram's house at the New Jersey shore, where Kaye hooks up with childhood friend Janet and her gay brother, Corny Stone. Stark images ripple through the third-person narrative, offering clues to Kaye's internal state (e.g., "She loved the serene brutality of the ocean"). A covert sexual overture from Janet's boyfriend precedes Kaye's nighttime encounter at the edge of the woods, where she meets and rescues Roiben, a mysterious Black Knight with silver hair. Throughout, the author subtly connects Kaye's awakening sexual feelings in the real world and Roiben's sudden appearances. Kaye soon discovers that she is a changeling-and that her one-time "imaginary" faerie playmates want her to pretend to be a human, so they can use her as the Tithe ("the sacrifice of a beautiful and talented mortal") to earn their freedom for seven years. The author's Bosch-like descriptions of the Unseelie Court, with its Rackham-on-acid denizens, and the exquisite faeries haunt as well as charm. When fate intervenes, sudden tragedy teaches Kaye about the high cost of straddling the faerie and human worlds (and sets the stage for a possible sequel). A gripping read. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Kaye spun down the worn, gray planks of the board-walk. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

69 Reviews
5 star:
 (45)
4 star:
 (12)
3 star:
 (8)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (69 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most helpful customer reviews

 
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Not what I was expecting, but still good., April 11 2009
By Vanessa M. Dow "Vanessa D" (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
"After all, when you were already in a slippery place, reality-wise, you couldn't afford to assume that things would be straightforward from here on in." - from Tithe, page 124

Sixteen year old Kaye has always known she was a little different from everyone else. When other little girls were playing with Barbies, she was playing with faeries in her backyard, creatures she insisted were real but which no one else could see. After a strange incident at one of her mom's gigs, Kaye returns to the home where she spent much of her childhood. And the faeries are back. Kaye finds herself a playing piece in a struggle between two powers, neither of whom has Kaye's interests in mind.

Most of my experience with faerie comes from fairy tales (which I love) and books of squished pixies (which I don't). This book is neither. Dark and unsettling, Tithe draws you into a world where none of the usual rules apply. No one is who they appear to be, and their motives are impossible to define. And the pixies are more likely to squish you.

I thought this book was a bit of a slow starter, but once it got going, I really loved it. Kaye is a high-school dropout who spends all her time working to support her rocker-chick wannabe of a mom... definitely not the type of role model I would want for my daughter. She's extremely likeable nonetheless. The dark parts of this story make the lighter moments shine all the brighter. There's a great romantic component here, as well as themes of friendship and loyalty. Don't go in expecting Cinderella's fairy godmother, and you and this book will get along just fine.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Good read!, Jul 29 2009
I loved this book! I couldn't wait the read the second and third books! Mrs. Black combines the Ancient Folk lore of Faeries to how they live in our modern day cities. Brilliant!
Her characters are believable; you get lost in their dilemma as well as the romance and action.
I have recommended this book to others!
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4.0 out of 5 stars Somewhere between Charles De Lint and Francesca Lia Block, Nov 5 2007
By Mike Perschon (Edmonton) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Holly Black's first "Spiderwick" readers aren't little children any more, and it would seem that she intends to grow up her writing in tandem. "Tithe" explores the same world "Spiderwick" did, but with a much darker, sexual, and transformational vision. Typical of the contemporary fairy tale for teens, it follows the standard "edgy" young adult protagonist who skips school, drinks, smokes, and is sexually aware (if not active). However, while Black starts out following in the footsteps of Francesca Lia Block with her rock and roll urban fantasy world, she deviates about mid-way through from her psychadelic predecessor's path, straying more into the world Charles De Lint has been perfecting for the bulk of his writing career. It's not brilliant, but it is fun, and lives up to the press of being a modern "faerie" not fairy tale. The world Black takes us into is definitely the perilous realm, where not everyone necessarily lives happily ever after.
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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Faeries
Tithe is about Kaye, a faerie. With Halloween not more than a few weeks away, Kaye and her mother suddenly wind up "back home"--her grandmothers house. Read more
Published on Jul 2 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent.
I was looking through a small Waldenbooks to find a random book. I looked in the Young Adult section and saw a beautiful, brown-black paper-back book with two green wings on the... Read more
Published on Jun 30 2004 by Lori

5.0 out of 5 stars Tithe: Fantasy the Way it Should Be
Where could one begin, reviewing one of the best teen fantasy novels on the market? Perhaps by saying that it indeed is wonderful, is worth your time, and will leave you feeling... Read more
Published on Jun 24 2004 by Caitlin

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous Gutter Faerie /Urban Fantasy
"Tithe" by Holly Black -- wow. I spent Sunday afternoon at the bookstore and saw it in the teen section, and only meant to thumb through it. Read more
Published on Jun 15 2004 by MooncatX

5.0 out of 5 stars An AWSOME book!
First of all, I would love to say that I love faeries! But after I read this book, it totally twisted my imaganation of them! Read more
Published on Jun 13 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars A rough but honest book for young adults
How can you talk about fantasy and life and the (sometimes) danger of it all with young teens/adults, and somehow not sound like you are full of it? Read more
Published on Jun 13 2004 by Ms. Antoinette P. Burnham

3.0 out of 5 stars "It's Just a Game, It's Just a Game..."
"Tithe" is the first novel of faerie-author Holly Black targeted toward young adults, that centres around teenager Kaye Fierch, the blonde-Asian daughter of a rocker mother who... Read more
Published on Jun 12 2004 by R. M. Fisher

5.0 out of 5 stars The Realm of the Faeries
This book is about 16 year old Kaye Fierch who has lived with her mom in the city for a few years to pursue her mothers dream of becoming famous. Read more
Published on Jun 11 2004 by headbanger0320

5.0 out of 5 stars A tale of faeries.
Kaye, a modern girl whose life is not even close to perfect, moves back to her grandma's house in New Jersey and re-encounters her "imaginary" friends of her childhood. Read more
Published on May 29 2004 by step_on_me773

2.0 out of 5 stars Painfully Unoriginal
There are two problems that I have with this book.

Number one: Black seems to want to try and use the ice-berg theory, and show only what her characters are doing, while giving... Read more

Published on May 28 2004 by Embyr Bradson

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