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Darkbeast (Darkbeast #1)

3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 · rating details · 108 ratings · 42 reviews

A girl’s love for her raven may put her life in jeopardy in this gripping tale.

In Keara’s world, every child has a darkbeast—a creature that takes dark emotions like anger, pride, and rebellion. Keara’s darkbeast is Caw, a raven, and Keara can be free of her worst feelings by transferring them to Caw. He is her constant companion, and they are magically bound to each other...more

Hardcover, 288 pages

Published August 28th 2012 by Margaret K. McElderry Books

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Jan 05, 2013 Monica! rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2013, you-go-girl, the-sparkles-mean-its-magic, hark-a-questing-beast, yippie-kay-ai-motherf-cker, i-love-you-for-your-cover, puberty-is-overrated-anyway, one-dog-woof, but-wait-theres-more

Y’all, before I start talking about how much I really super enjoyed Darkbeast, everyone should take a moment to enjoy the oh-so-pretty cover.

IT’S OH SO PRETTY.

Okay.

Eye-shimmer moment over.

So! I really super enjoyed Darkbeast.

I’d picked it up initially because of the aforementioned cover of beauty, and taken it home because I thought the plot might have been stealing the daemon concept from His Dark Materials and I wanted the opportunity to write a scathing review.

No such opportunity has presen...more

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Mar 18, 2013 TheBookSmugglers rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 7-rated-book, charming-mg

Originally reviewed on The Book Smugglers

In Keara's world, every newborn child is bound to a darkbeast, a magical animal that will be the child's constant companion, and with which its bound child can communicate through thought and speech. Over the years as a child grows, it will make offerings of dark emotions to its darkbeast, such as hate, fear, jealousy, or anger. In turn, the darkbeast absolves and teaches the child the error of its ways. This process of offering and absolution continues u...more Originally reviewed on The Book Smugglers

In Keara's world, every newborn child is bound to a darkbeast, a magical animal that will be the child's constant companion, and with which its bound child can communicate through thought and speech. Over the years as a child grows, it will make offerings of dark emotions to its darkbeast, such as hate, fear, jealousy, or anger. In turn, the darkbeast absolves and teaches the child the error of its ways. This process of offering and absolution continues until the child reaches her twelfth year - at which point she must kill her darkbeast and become an adult member of society.

It has always been thus.

Keara has long awaited her twelfth name day - the youngest of three sisters, she longs to leave childhood behind and become a woman. Once she becomes an adult, she will move to the woman's shared tent, she will be allowed to watch the Travelers perform their revels, and she will finally be seen as a woman in the eyes of her mother. But Keara's twelfth year comes at a terrible cost, and she does not know how she will be able to kill her darkbeast, a raven named Caw, who is Keara's dearest companion and beloved friend. When the time of the ceremony comes, Keara makes a daring, rebellious choice - to defy tradition and to save Caw. Together, the girl and her darkbeast flee Keara's village home and take to the road, avoiding the pursuit of the Inquisitors, who will stop at nothing to cleanse the unpious and inflict their torture on lost souls to bring them back to the Twelve Gods. On the road, the pair find solace in the employ of a skilled troupe of Travelers - actors that move from town to town - but when Keara's presence threatens to hurt her new friends, and as the Inquisitors draw near, she must muster the strength to tell the truth, to stoke the rebellious attitude within that made her save her darkbeast.

The first middle grade fantasy novel in a planned series, Darkbeast accomplishes a tricky feat. Morgan Keyes blends a medieval religious society in a believable and compelling fantasy world - one that is nuanced enough for older readers, but still engaging and accessible for a middle grade audience. There are few books that manage to walk this tightrope - the early Harry Potter novels and Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials books immediately spring to mind - and Keyes' Darkbeast does this with surefooted grace. In short: Darkbeast is one effective, memorable novel.

Let's talk worldbuilding. Who doesn't love the idea of an animal familiar? Who read The Golden Compass/The Northern Lights and didn't want a Pantalaimon of one's own? In Darkbeast, Keyes takes the idea of an animal familiar and twists it - instead of golden monkeys and lynxes, the familiar beasts in Keara's world are toads and snakes, lizards and ravens. Instead of cuddly (and there's nothing wrong with cuddly!), darkbeasts are creatures that inspire revulsion or fear - which is fitting with their function as magical creatures that absorb the ill emotions of their bonded child. And this, perhaps, is one of the things that makes it easier for a twelve year old to kill its closest companion. It's a brilliant concept, and one that makes Keara's choice to save her friend Caw - whom she cannot kill any more than she can cut off her own foot, as she thinks at the decisive moment - all the more powerful. When Keara starts to question the wisdom of killing one's darkbeast, she starts down a rabbit hole of doubt and knowledge. Why would benevolent gods demand the deaths of darkbeasts? Why do the Inquisitors and tax collectors and the great Primate have so much power, while everyone else has so little? All of these questions, and more, are brought up subtly throughout the book and invite readers to question and rebel as much as heroine Keara does.

From a character perspective, Keara is a fantastic, deserving, and endearing heroine. You know how sometimes you read a book and cannot believe in the main character - either they sound too old or too young for their purported age, or something just seems off? This is certainly not the case with young Keara, who comes across as a living, breathing, flawed twelve year old that has her missteps, but also has a huge heart that guides her actions. I think I fell in love with Keara from the beginning, when she continues to sneak out of her home, explicitly against her mother's wishes - not because she's a bad child, but because she cannot keep herself away from the revels, and cannot sit idly by when her fascination and curiosity burn so brightly. In contrast, Keara's darkbeast Caw is somewhat less defined - my only real disappointment with the book is how quiet Caw is, and how one note his frequent jokes for food and scraps to cover up his wisdom.

This flaw aside, Darkbeast is a brilliant middle grade novel that is even better upon reflection. There is so much room for more - what with formal rebellion brewing in the background - so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we will get more books in this beautiful darkbeast-filled world. Absolutely recommended, for readers young and old alike.(less)

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Jan 08, 2013 Shanshad Whelan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens, fantasy, mg

I'm rather surprised this one didn't come across my desk last year--but very glad to discover it now. This is a delightful fantasy tale where one girl's love of her darkbeast causes her to challenge to order of her world. Our young protagonist lives in a world where children are bound to a darkbeast when they are named, and for twelve years, they are to give to their darkbeast all their failings and faults. But in their twelfth year they must kill their darkbeasts in order to become adults. But...more

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Oct 28, 2012 Seregil of Rhiminee rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Originally published at Risingshadow.

I became interested in Morgan Keyes' Darkbeast when I saw it being mentioned in Lynn Flewelling's LiveJournal. The story seemed interesting and original to me, so I'm glad that I had a chance to read and review Darkbeast.

In my opinion Darkbeast is one of the most positive reading experiences of 2012. I enjoyed reading reading it, because it was a sophisticated, nuanced and complex story about a young girl who dared to disagree with the norms of the society.

Be...more

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Oct 11, 2012 Leslie Preddy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: grades 4-6

Each child in Keara’s land is connected to an animal with which the child can communicate. Through this bond, the creature is like a conscience and alleviates the child’s anger, guilt and sins. Keara’s beast is a raven who counsels her when she rebels against her mother and when she has the typical tween angst and resentment against authority of adults. Keara’s greatest problem is that on a child’s twelfth birthday, she becomes a woman and is expected to sacrifice her ‘darkbeast’ on an alter dur...more

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Oct 02, 2012 Cindy Hudson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Darkbeast by Morgan Keyes is a tale of a magical place where children are bonded to animals that have the power to take away their dark thoughts—Darkbeasts. This sort of confession helps them release their troubles and feel lighter. Most children don’t like their Darkbeasts, but Keara has always felt a special bond with Caw, a crow who was bonded to her when she was an infant.

When children turn twelve, they are expected to slay their Darkbeasts and take their place among the adults in their soci...more

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Sep 06, 2012 Charlotte rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012

Darkbeast, by Morgan Keyes (Margaret K. McElderry Books, middle grade, August 28, 2012), is a book that you can judge by its lovely cover. At least, I myself was completely taken with it--the strong stance of the girl, the raven poised to fly, the hint of danger in the falling feathers....And I bet that any ten or eleven year old (or so) girl who's a fantasy reader will feel the same way.* Happily, the story inside lives up to its cover beautifully!

Keara has lived with her raven Caw since she wa...more Darkbeast, by Morgan Keyes (Margaret K. McElderry Books, middle grade, August 28, 2012), is a book that you can judge by its lovely cover. At least, I myself was completely taken with it--the strong stance of the girl, the raven poised to fly, the hint of danger in the falling feathers....And I bet that any ten or eleven year old (or so) girl who's a fantasy reader will feel the same way.* Happily, the story inside lives up to its cover beautifully!

Keara has lived with her raven Caw since she was a baby--sharing all her thoughts and dreams with him, and hearing his voice in return. He is her darkbeast, able to take all her faults and failings away from her when she tells them to him. Every child has a darkbeast, often a toad, or a snake, or a lizard, bound to them until their twelfth birthday, but not every one's darkbeast is their beloved friend (it is, perhaps, easier to be friends with a raven than with a snake, but regardless, Caw has tons of personality, and Keara loves him).

But the thing is, when you turn twelve in Keara's world, you are too old to have a darkbeast anymore, and are supposed to grow up and conquer your own faults. And so your darkbeast must die, in a ritual enforced by the Inquisitors.

When Keara turns 12, she cannot kill Caw. And so she must flee her village, and the Inquisitors she's offended (they are not nice people, those Inquisitors). Fortunately, she finds refuge with a band of travelling actors, and begins to make a new life for herself and Caw, pretending to still be a child. The fear of being found out is always with her, and the actors themselves are in danger for sheltering her. The Inquisitors are hunting her...and they will not rest until Caw is dead, and Keara punished.

It's a very good book. The constant danger Keara's in keeps the tension humming, the relationships among the characters (and their darkbeasts) are very nicely done, and the world building, which includes a panoply of gods, is sufficiently detailed to interest, without going overboard in dotting every socio-political i.

It's a story that I think will be taken straight to the heart of girls reluctant to grow up (like me when I was eleven). The crisis of emotion that Keara, and every other child, to some degree, must face when they turn 12 is the center of the book, and it packs a powerful punch. And I must say that I really really appreciated a book in which the central girl character, though strong and determined enough, is an ordinary girl. She's not, for instance, a theatrical wonderkind, stepping into the lead roles in the plays her new community performs, though she does make a useful place for herself. She never grabs a sword to start whacking inquisitors. No handsome dude falls for her (she's still a kid). There's wish fulfillment in plenty--Keara's relationship with Caw is something that I bet many girls will envy**--but Keara is always someone who it's easy for a young girl to imagine being.

That all being said, even if you are not suffering from the angst and loneliness of adolescence, you might still really like it. Like I said, it's a good book. And even if you are a boy, you should still try it.

*I have little data to back up my feeling about the cover--just one reaction, from my grown-up friend Anamaria, of Books Together, who came over for a visit and spotted it first thing amongst the books I had out to talk to her about...And the fact that my boys, despite it being left enticingly face out for days, don't seem to have noticed it.

**hands up anyone like me who was eleven in the early eighties who really wanted a fire lizard

disclaimer: review copy very happily received from the publisher(less)

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Sep 02, 2012 Karen Yingling rated it 3 of 5 stars

Keara's pivotal birthday is upon her-- she will turn 12, making her an adult in her medievalish world, and she will need to kill Caw, her darkbeast. All children have companions that are bonded to them at birth and to whom they take all of their rebellion and bad qualities. Most children hate their darkbeasts, who tend to be rats, snakes, and toads, but Keara has always loved Caw, a crow, and finally decides that instead of killing him, they will run off together with the Travelers, roving actor...more

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Aug 31, 2012 Melissa Posten rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-books-read

In the grand tradition of Tamora Pierce, Lloyd Alexander and Susan Cooper (as well as the contemporary tradition of PLAIN KATE, UP AND DOWN THE SCRATCHY MOUNTAINS, and Shannon Hale) comes DARKBEAST. Keara lives in a world where babies are bound to a darkbeast, an animal companion whose purpose is to absorb all of Keara's darker emotions so that she can grow into adulthood as a better person. However, on the day she turns twelve, Keara is supposed to kill her darkbeast - a crow named Caw - and co...more

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Aug 29, 2012 Deborah Blake rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I grew up reading classic fantasy stories by such authors as Anne McCaffery, Andre Norton, Lloyd Alexander, and of course, Tolkien. I loved books that had strong female protagonists I could identify with, intriguing new worlds for me to get lost in, and an adventure I wanted to follow until the end (or beyond).

Author Morgan Keyes gives us all of those in her debut novel, Darkbeast. Keara is a believable, feisty, and courageous heroine, whose dedication to her companion Caw makes me root for her...more

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Aug 18, 2012 Kathy Martin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

DARKBEAST creates a rich and creative fantasy world filled with numerous gods and myths. Keara is from a small village, the youngest child of her widowed mother. At twelve days old she was bound to her darkbeast, a crow she calls Caw. She and Caw have been inseparable companions. Caw's purpose is to take all the destructive emotions from Keara so that she will grow into adulthood and fit in to the life that is planned for her. Then, on her twelfth birthday, Keara must sacrifice her darkbeast and...more DARKBEAST creates a rich and creative fantasy world filled with numerous gods and myths. Keara is from a small village, the youngest child of her widowed mother. At twelve days old she was bound to her darkbeast, a crow she calls Caw. She and Caw have been inseparable companions. Caw's purpose is to take all the destructive emotions from Keara so that she will grow into adulthood and fit in to the life that is planned for her. Then, on her twelfth birthday, Keara must sacrifice her darkbeast and take her place among the adults.

But Keara can't kill this friend who has been part of her for all her life. She chooses, instead, to leave the village and go off after the travelers who are troops of wandering players who travel around the country performing plays about the gods. She needs to keep out of the sight of the Inquisitors who are charged with finding and correcting those who flout the rules. Keara does make a place for herself among the players and makes friends with two other children - Vala and Goran - but she is always afraid that the Inquisitors will find her.

As readers, we learn about the various gods through the plays the travelers perform. We learn about the beliefs of the people in the country by want they do. There are no large "info-dumps" to tell us what is happening. We see the world through Keara's eyes. We get to see the strong, positive, loving relationship between Keara and Caw. And we see what happens when Vala reaches her twelfth name day and sacrifices her darkbeast.

Caw is a fascinating character in his own right. He dispenses all sorts of wisdom while still remaining a crow with a constant appetite for treats. I think Keara lucked out in the darkbeast department. I found Caw a much more sympathetic companion than Vala's serpent or Goran's toad.

I was fascinated by this new world, by Keara and Caw, and by the travelers and couldn't put the story down. I think fantasy readers who like a strong heroine willing to go to great lengths for what she believes in despite a huge amount of social pressure to conform will enjoy this story. The ending is not exactly a cliffhanger but there is certainly room for a sequel or two. There are lots of unanswered questions remaining.(less)

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Apr 03, 2013 Phoebe rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, juv, juv-fantasy

Keara dreads turning 12, because this is the day she must kill her darkbeast, Caw, the crow she was bound to as a baby and who has been her companion ever since. In her society, all children are bound to an animal whose role is to take the child's negative behavior, his/her failings, and make it their own, thereby freeing the child to behave properly. When the moment comes, Keara cannot do the deed, and so she fails in the eyes of her community. She runs away, hoping the Travelers will take her...more

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May 16, 2013 Kris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bookreviewcenter, youngadult

Recommended for gr. 6-9. While the protagonist/narrator is age 12, the story will appeal to older readers. Keara, like all of the children in her world, is bound to a darkbeast – an animal which takes on their dark thoughts and acts, freeing the child from negativity. By tradition, each child sacrifices his/her darkbeast on his/her twelfth nameday and becomes an adult. However, Keara, unlike most children, loves her darkbeast, a raven named Caw, and refuses to perform the sacrifice. In her stric...more

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Jul 05, 2012 Lisa rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Lisa by: Mindy Klasky (aka Morgan Keyes)

Shelves: fantasy, adventure, coming-of-age, values

Keara lives in Duodecia, where every child is paired with a darkbeast who receives the child's negative emotions and thoughts. On their twelfth birthday each child passes to adulthood after performing the ritual of killing their darkbeast. If they don't perform the ritual they are considered Lost by the powerful priests, and the feared Inquisitors use chains and knives to reform them.

When Keara refuses to kill Caw, her raven darkbeast, she must leave her family and flee the Inquisitors. She join...more

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Sep 21, 2012 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My sin is how much I enjoyed this book and I would not want my darkbeast to take my sin away.

The reliance the people of this book place on their darkbeasts is a blessing and a curse, and the growth of the characters is a palatable thing. The story was smooth and easy to read, making it a fabulous book for young readers or struggling readers (one of the reasons I read young adult literature). However, there is a depth to the story that makes it a page turner for adults as well.

I am looking forwar...more

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Jan 06, 2013 Polly rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens-books, fantasy, fiction, middle-grade

This is kind of sweet, but hardly original. It has a spunky but worried heroine who runs away from home after a taboo action, and meets some quirky and unconventional travelling players and has adventures and eventually realizes that taboo actions are sometimes right, and society/religion is sometimes wrong. I'm not sure whether this is a stand-alone book or not, the ending is such that there could easily be planned sequels, but there don't have to be. I probably won't read them if there are, th...more

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Sep 12, 2012 Kellee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: middle-grade, fantasy, religion-faith, website-review-done, my-best-of-2012, teach-mentor-texts

Reviewed at: http://www.teachmentortexts.com/2012/...

*In Darkbeast, we meet Keara, a young girl who has been bound to Caw, her raven darkbeast, since she was 12 days old; however, on her 12th birthday, it is her duty to slay Caw and to welcome adulthood. Keara, though, does not know if she can live without Caw and makes a decision that changes her life.

In the world of high fantasy, very rarely is there a middle grade novel that fits the definition, but Darkbeast is just that. Morgan Keyes has b...more Reviewed at: http://www.teachmentortexts.com/2012/...

*In Darkbeast, we meet Keara, a young girl who has been bound to Caw, her raven darkbeast, since she was 12 days old; however, on her 12th birthday, it is her duty to slay Caw and to welcome adulthood. Keara, though, does not know if she can live without Caw and makes a decision that changes her life.

In the world of high fantasy, very rarely is there a middle grade novel that fits the definition, but Darkbeast is just that. Morgan Keyes has built a world that is unique filled with traditions and mythology from her imagination. Her creation of 12 gods and goddess who are worshiped is a bit reminiscent of Greek or Roman mythology, but includes its own flair. Keara's world also is a bit dystopian with a ruler who ensures that all of his subjects worship the gods he worships and has inquisitors to patrol his kingdom to scare the belief into all. The world also celebrates the arts with the Travelers which are a well respected group who go from town to town performing plays either about The Twelve or about traditions within their culture. Overall, Morgan Keyes built a pretty solid world for her story to exist.

In the classroom, this book would be a great read aloud. It would cause a lot of discussion about Keara's decisions and what it means to be an adult. Keara's story is very similar to many coming of age/rebellion stories yet throws in another aspect with the duty that looms over her head. Parts of Keyes's story would also fit well within a mythology unit because it could take traditional literature and transform it into a creative writing activity about creating gods/goddesses of different realms. You can even have the students use word parts. For example, Keyes's goddess of death is Mortana which literally has the word death in it. So, if a student wanted a goddess of life she could be Biotina.

Snatch of Text: "The Traveleres were even more magnificent than they'd been the night before. Their voices were louder, more sure. Their costumes were brighter. Their story was even more compelling.
The goddess Pondera was visiting a market town, watching over all the goods in the market place. A merchant cheated one of his customers, placing false weights on his scales. He wasn't evil, though. He cheated because he needed coins to clothe his family, to buy new shoes for his youngest daughter, whose feet were chapped and bleeding in the winter cold.
The merchant's crimes were discovered by a boy. The boy wore a costume, like all of the Travelers, but he did not wear a mask. Instead his face was bare to the world, his dark eyes huge in his pale face. Even though this was only the second time I'd seen the Travelers, I understood that the boy looked that way so we all would trust him, we all would understand the struggle he undertook." (p. 33-34)

Mentor Text for: Suspense, Setting, World Building, Mythology

**Thank you to Morgan Keyes and Simon & Schuster for providing a copy for me to review**(less)

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Jul 19, 2012 Brandi rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: middle-grade-chapter, fantasy

Darkbeast is the first book in a new fantasy series by Morgan Keyes. It takes place is a medieval type land ruled by a theocracy. Twelve gods are worshipped, each accountable for various phenomena, like the Olympians in Greek mythology. Every infant is magically bound to an animal known as a darkbeast. From infancy until their 12th birthday, the child will give all of their negative emotions and habits, like lying and disrespect, to their darkbeast. On a child’s 12th birthday a coming of age ce...more

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Nov 11, 2012 Audrey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: book-scout-internship, fantasy, young-adult-middle-grade, fiction

The idea of a world where every person is bound to a spiritual animal isn’t new, and makes most of us think immediately of Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials Trilogy. However, Megan King in her new book Darkbeast gives us another unique take on the concept.

In this world, these spirit animals are known as darkbeasts. Every child is bound to one at birth, and as they grow up, give them all of their failings - their fears, rebellions, angers, jealousies and despairs. Darkbeasts become embodiments...more The idea of a world where every person is bound to a spiritual animal isn’t new, and makes most of us think immediately of Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials Trilogy. However, Megan King in her new book Darkbeast gives us another unique take on the concept.

In this world, these spirit animals are known as darkbeasts. Every child is bound to one at birth, and as they grow up, give them all of their failings - their fears, rebellions, angers, jealousies and despairs. Darkbeasts become embodiments of all a person’s wrongs, and often take on the form of more repulsive animals such as snakes, rats and toads. Most children hate their darkbeast, and can’t wait until their thirteenth nameday when they will kill it, and become adults.

Keara is different. She loves her raven darkbeast Caw, and decides to flee her village instead of completing the ceremony. She convinces a troupe of actors, known as Travelers, to let her join them as they preform across the kingdom. Keara is drawn to them because their performances and depictions of the Gods look like magic to her. The more time she spends with them, the more she views them as family; the children, Vala and Goran, become her siblings, and Taggart, the troupe’s strong leader, is a father-figure. As she gets closer to the Travelers than she ever was with her family, Keara is almost happier than when she was at home; she feels safe and loved. However, if anyone, even one of her fellow Travelers, found out that she was supposed to have killed Caw, she would be branded as Lost, and turned over to the terrifying Inquisitors, responsible for tracking down heretics who disobeyed the kingdom’s traditions.

This undeniably has many similarities with past fantasy series (mainly Pullman’s), but it brings in enough new elements to create a fresh story. You can almost imagine that this takes place in one of the Pullman’s parallel worlds, except that this time, the religious authority has succeeded in getting people to break their bonds to their spirit animals. We realize that after the children kill their darkbeasts, all that is left is a shell of a human who is easily manipulated by the powerful religious authority. Like Pullman’s Lyra, Keara questions the authority of the religion that is at the center of her society. However, King’s story is a lot less controversial, drawing less ties to our modern religions (Keara’s polytheistic beliefs sound more like something out of ancient Greece than anything we see today), and focusing instead on rebellion against a more general over-powerful and manipulative authority. King also does a nice job of addressing how our many faults make us human, and are ultimately our strengths.

Darkbeast is the first part of a series, and definitely leaves you wanting to read more. However, this isn’t a story that I can see lasting through many books. Its nature is such that you want to see how it ends; you can only keep reading about how a character escapes and defies authority for so long before you want to see a resolution.

The book, overall, was a very fun read. It is fast-paced, immediately drawing you in and continuously making you want to read more. Keara is easy to like, and she is well depicted as a thirteen year old who thinks that she knows more about the world than she does, but who slowly discovers how much more she has to learn. King takes ideas and themes that we are familiar with, but changes them enough to create a new and interesting world.
(less)

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Jul 22, 2012 Simon rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A change of pace and setting from my usual reading material, but that just made it even more refreshing and enjoyable.

Keara is a headstrong girl, and like all children in her world she's bonded to an animal soon after birth. During childhood the animal absorbs all those excesses kids are prone to, from temper fits to disobedience and everything in between.

(Can I just say that if Darkbeasts could also induce kids to clean up their rooms, I'd put an order in for two right now.)

But onwards. Keara's...more

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Nov 20, 2012 Kristi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Keara and her world are so well described and imagined that I fell into it and didn't want to come out.

My only issue with this book is that it's not marketed as a part 1 or a trilogy, so the ending come pretty abruptly and leaves you hanging. I don't mind having to imagine up my own ending, but I do want things to be tidy enough that I feel satisfied. This left a bit too much unraveled.

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Jul 09, 2012 Maria V. Snyder rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A great read for young teens. Despite the title this is not a horror story - the cover art shows it better, but for some reason Goodreads hasn't updated the cover art. The Darkbeast is a very unique fantasy element and is a wonderful concept (I wish I had one). This book comes out at the end of August (I received an ARC from the author ;) Watch my blog in mid-August for an interview with Morgan about this book and for a chance to win a signed copy.

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Nov 18, 2012 Samuel Lubell rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, ya

Darkbeast by "Morgan Keyes" is an excellent middle grades novel. Keara is a wonderful character, a mix of rebellion, uncertainty, and searching for her place. In this medievalesque fantasy world, children take their faults to their darkbeast, an animal telepathically linked to them. The Darkbeast takes on their faults, and then, when the child turns 13, they have to kill the darkbeast to become an adult. Instead Keara runs away and has adventures with her raven Caw.

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Nov 08, 2012 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult

Like all children, Keara has a Darkbeast who takes away her negative and challenging feelings. But unlike other children, she refuses to kill it on her twelfth birthday and instead runs away. The characters are imaginatively detailed, if not emotionally deep, and the parable about repression and what it means is a good one.

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Aug 10, 2012 Kimberly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, middle-grade, own-hard-copy, teen-library-exchange, summer-reads, for-trade

Fun read. This book was a nice break from urban fantasy for me. It was easy to understand. For a middle grade book it had a lot of big vocabulary I had to look up though. There is no romance in this book which was also a nice break. The beginning and the end of the book was fun and interesting, but the middle was kind of slow and dragged out. The relationship between Keara and Caw was cute. Keara is really brave for her age. Overall this is a good light read you could read as a break between mor...more

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Sep 20, 2012 Risa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Coming of age novel, definitely aimed for the younger crowd. Thought-provoking and well written. Certainly encouraging kids to think for themselves. Not as "fun" or engaging for me as the author's (Mindy Klasky) other books but that may just be due to a much younger target audience.

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Feb 15, 2013 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: chi-adventure, chi-fantasy

Dark, quest, “high” fantasy. I liked this book but it was a bit convoluted at first. It was not clear to me why other children so readily killed the dark beasts or what the purpose of doing so was. It is explained later in the book and I am glad I stuck with it. 3-6th grade.

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Aug 27, 2012 Nancy Kress rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A book I liked for young readers (age 10 and up): DARKBEAST, by Morgan Keyes, published by Simon & Schuster. As a former 4th-grade teacher, I sometimes read kid-lit. This one has an appealing protag, a richly drawn fantasy world, and an ending I didn't see coming.

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Jan 14, 2013 David Carns rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Read this to my 8 year old. We both liked the story telling, characters and the creativity of the world. I enjoyed the sophisticated language targeted at younger readers.

Looking forward to the next installment!

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Feb 19, 2013 Fade rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A well-told tale of coming of age and running away to have adventures, with a truly innovative twist from its core premise. Ends on a mild "sequel hook!" note, but not annoyingly so.

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About Morgan Keyes

Morgan Keyes grew up in California, Texas, Georgia, and Minnesota, accompanied by parents, a brother, a dog, and a cat. Also, there were books. Lots and lots of books.

Morgan started to keep a journal for a second-grade English class and never really stopped. Journal entries turned into short stories, and short stories turned into novels. In between, there were an awful lot of haikus and cinquains....more

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To Wish or Not to Wish (As You Wish, #3)

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Darkbeast (Darkbeast #1)

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