Black, Holly. 2002. Tithe. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books. ISBN 978-0-689-86704-0
Tithe by Holly Black is the story of sixteen-year-old Kaye Fierch. Something is not quite right about Kaye. She knows it; others know it. She is strange. Kaye used to talk to faeries, her mother is a wannabe, partying, alcoholic rock star who drags Kaye with her wherever she goes in her search for a big break. Kaye does not go to school. She works in order to help provide for her mom and boyfriend; she doesn’t know her father, but that’s okay with Kaye. When Ellen’s boyfriend tries to murder her, Ellen and Kaye pack up and head back to New Jersey to live with Kaye’s grandmother (who disapproves of Ellen’s life and Kaye not being in school.) Once back in New Jersey, Kaye meets up with her childhood friend Janet and goes out with her to a party. At the party, Kaye enchants Kenny, Janet’s boyfriend, and must escape the party after Kenny becomes aggressive in his advances. Upon leaving the party, Kaye meets Roiben, a faerie who works for the Unseelie (the bad faeries). Thus begins Kaye’s reconnection to her childhood faerie friends and her discovery that she is not mortal but actually a changeling who is currently under a strong glamour that makes her appear as though she is human. Kaye finds herself at the center of a fight for power between the Seelie and Unseelie faerie folk and is in danger of becoming a sacrifice (the tithe) for the Unseelie, which will ensure the Unseelie dominion over the independent faeries for seven years. Kaye soon finds herself in a fight for her life. Will she escape the tithe? Will the Unseelie realize she is not mortal? Can faerie knight Roiben and Kaye’s friend Corny help her escape the Unseelie Queen and evil faerie Nephamael? Read tithe and find out.
Holly Black’s fantasy novel Tithe depicts the dark, edgy world of the faerie quite well. The faeries in this novel are far removed from how many think of faeries. They are not innocuous like Tinker Bell. These faeries are dangerous, cruel, and the ultimate tricksters. Main character Kaye has grown up as a mortal but soon finds out that she is a changeling, a pixie. She also finds out that she is at the center of the power struggle between the Seelie and Unseelie fey folk. Black provides much suspense throughout her novel. First, the reader wonders what Kaye is and why she was able to talk with faeries as a child. We also are kept in suspense about the tithe and all the otherworldly folk involved in that. Who can Kaye trust? Her childhood faerie friends, Nephamael (a knight from the Seelie court), Roiben (a dark knight from the Unseelie court who appears to care for Kaye), or Corny (her new friend who has recently been enchanted by Nephamael)? The plot of this story is interesting, and the stakes are high for the characters, especially Kaye, but beware, there is death and gore in this novel. In fact, a September 2009 Kirkus Review says this of Tithe: “Debauchery, despair, deceit, and grisly death—what more could you ask from a fairy tale?” I would say that the Grimm brothers would be proud.
The ending of this story is typical of a fantasy novel in that it leaves off with the sense that there is more adventures and risk to come, and in fact, there are two other novels in this series. The characterization of Kaye is strong. She internally struggles with being good and bad. On one hand she may enchant a young man and relish the power she feels, but feel bad about it in the next moment. Kaye, though the reader comes to find out that she is a changeling, is portrayed as a typical sixteen year old girl who is trying to find out who she is and her place in the world.
Readers who really enjoy fantasy novels, stories dealing with characters from the Mabinogion, and faerie folk will tend to like these novels. However, I would only recommend this novel for a more mature audience, roughly 9th grade on up due to the graphic language and sexuality. In fact, a School Library Journal (October 2002) review wrote that “the excessive use of obscenities adds little to character development.” In addition to the sexuality and graphic language, this novel has a dark tone, and it is not a light-hearted world to enter into, so those who like lighter, happier settings, this is not the book for them. This book would be a good one to feature in a booktalk and to feature alongside other fantasy or faerie-oriented novels. This is not a book to have on the required reading list at school because it will draw out the censors for the reasons mentioned previously.
Review Exerpts:
- Kirkus Review (9/1/2002): “Kaye is a clever, courageous heroine with an appealingly wry voice, and Roiben is a gloriously damaged and darkly noble tragic hero.”
- Fantasy & Science Fiction (Jan. 2003): Charles De Lint says that Tithe “is literally one of the best fantasies I’ve read in years, never mind it being one of the best debut novels.”
Extras
- An ALA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults
- A Mythopoeic Fantasy Award Finalist
- A New York Public Library Best Book for the Teen Age
- A YALSA Popular Paperback for Young Adults
Book Cover Art from Barnes&Noble:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Tithe/Holly-Black/e/9780613734561/?itm=4&USRI=tithe+holly+black
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