Legendborn: Secret Societies, Historic Legends, and Black Girl Magic

Disclaimer: due to the realistic and heavy portrayal of themes such as grief and racism, the author of this article suggests this book for ages 16+. 

For hundreds of years, authors and Arthuriana scholars have been adding to and twisting Geoffrey of Monmouth’s original story of a king of Britain who defeats the Saxons in a glorious battle. In 2020, Tracy Deonn joined this multitude of writers when she published Legendborn, an urban fantasy novel based on the classic tale with themes of grief, identity, heritage, and racism seamlessly woven throughout. 

Sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews only wanted to get into the residential program at UNC for gifted high schoolers; she never signed up for the secret society of Legendborn, the descendants of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table dedicated to protecting humanity from mythological monsters. But when a teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” unlocks a memory of hers from the night her mother died, revealing that there was another Merlin at the hospital where it happened, Bree decides to infiltrate the Legendborn as one of the initiates in their training program to find out what really happened to her mother.

Deonn blends elements from the Arthurian legends with the contemporary world and modern issues throughout the story. The original characters of King Arthur, Merlin, Sir Lancelot, Sir Gawaine, and other familiar knights are newly imagined through teenagers as their descendants. Many of the aforementioned themes are based on Deonn’s real-life experiences, which lend a beautifully raw authenticity to her writing. From the beginning of the story we know that Bree’s mother died shortly beforehand, but Deonn doesn’t just use that as a plot device in passing like many YA books have the tendency to do. Instead, she dives into how deeply it affects Bree throughout the whole story and the emotional toll a traumatic event like that will have on a person, with this overarching message: “[d]on’t make your life about the loss. Make it about the love” (Deonn). Similarly, the theme of racism is recurring—and Deonn doesn’t limit herself to emphasizing how Black people had to endure it in the past, but expands on how harmful it still is in the 21st century through specific examples. She truly does a spectacular job of making racism relevant but cleverly written enough that Legendborn remains a fun fantasy book with knights, romance, and magic.

While the whole book is told from Bree’s point of view, the side characters are still fleshed out and endearing to the reader. Her banter with Alice, her childhood best friend, is hilarious, cute, and filled with fun pop culture references. Deonn also writes the main romantic relationship quite well, because while it exists and slowly develops, the key word is “slowly.” It doesn’t take over the narrative like some YA novels do, but it enhances the story and adds a fun, lighthearted undertone to the heavier themes and worldbuilding.

Speaking of worldbuilding, the expansive world Deonn creates for her setting within North Carolina radiates wonder and clearly had lots of thought and research put behind it. The magic system is split into two sects: one stems from Bree’s family tree and the other from King Arthur’s line. Legends and history play a big part in the narrative, and while it is a bit disorienting at first, the further you read, the more immersed the reader becomes in the story and its world. The strict hierarchy of the Round Table within the Legendborn society takes a while to fully understand, but because it’s all new to Bree too, it helps the reader to relate to her more through the mutual feeling of lostness. 

Deonn has since continued the Legendborn Cycle series with another fantastic hit: Bloodmarked, its sequel released in fall 2022. Currently in the works are Oathbound, the third installment set to come out in early 2025 that will pick up where Bloodmarked’s cliffhanger ends, and an untitled (though confirmed) fourth book in the series.

Works Cited

Deonn, Tracy. Legendborn. Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2022.