The Queen’s Dark Ambition
by Jessica L. Scott
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy
ISBN: 9781068482700
Print Length: 342 pages
Reviewed by Shelby Zwintscher
A twisted, whimsical young adult fantasy
Stacy is not pleased to be moving into a new house and changing schools. Her new room smells of dog urine, her best friends are no longer speaking with her, and her new town has a peculiar amount of missing children posters plastered about. Tensions are high between Stacy and her parents, and after an argument where Stacy accuses her parents of not caring about her opinion, Stacy cries herself into a curiously dream-filled sleep.
In her dream, whispers from the woods beckon her to a stream where, in the distance, fairies shimmer and glow. With a deep breath, Stacy takes a leap, believing she can fly across to join them. Instead, she is met with the frigid chill of stream water. She thrashes against the water until light emanates and breaks free from her body, and she feels a sense of relief of knowing who she truly is.
Upon waking, Stacy’s curiosity carries her to the real woods, where she leaps across the stream and finds an alarming sight. Fairies, resembling children with wings, are having some kind of ceremony. In the center of it all, a human child tied to a rock altar, about to be sacrificed by a faded, ghostly fairy. Stacy is desperate to help, but an older man rushes to stop her from intervening, warning her she’ll be next.
The next night, Stacy returns to the woods to find the phone she dropped when she fled. She stumbles across the kind old man from the night before, but not long after, she is captured by the fairies as a prisoner of the Queen.
Stacy’s story unravels and twists as she is thrust into the remarkable world of fairies. With the guidance of the kind old man, a wizard called Bower, Stacy learns about the world of magic dust, the reason fairies sacrifice human children, and the queen’s dark ambition.
The Queen’s Dark Ambition oozes with childlike wonder and whimsy. The fairies live in harmony with the natural world, residing in doorless tree houses to welcome their coexistence with nature. Each description of this world within the wood feels carefully and thoughtfully laid out, immersing the reader into the deep wonder of nature and fairy magic. The childlike whimsy is apparent in common activities of the fairy world, such as flying races and foraging about the woods.
“Deep purple lupins were scattered amongst the large foxgloves, with their spectacular luscious flowering turrets. Bees and butterflies hummed and fluttered above… In the air, particles of dust, unsettled by a light breeze, shimmered in the light as they fell.”
The Queen’s Dark Ambition covers a lot of ground, sometimes more than necessary. There are a few parts where the story drags, but there is still plenty of tension and unanswered questions that keep you going through the slower parts. The magic system is complex but engaging, especially when interwoven with religion.
In part two of her story, Stacy spends a lot of time with Bower, the wizard. Stacy and Bower’s relationship is sweet and heartwarming as he takes care of her and teaches her the ways of this new world she’s trapped inside of. They form a touching familial bond within the cozy, warm setting of Bower’s lodge. Their relationship is a true highlight.
“I perched on his lap like he was an elderly family relative, offering what little comfort I could. Soon, I put my full weight on him, resting my head on his chest. I felt safe, missing the childhood attentions I had received from my parents until recent years.”
A modern fairy tale that fuses playfulness with eeriness, The Queen’s Dark Ambition will send you to the whimsical, yet dangerous natural world and make you feel glad you came.
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