The Beast Player is a masterpiece. It is a young adult fantasy novel unlike any I have read before. In addition to political power, it explores unusual themes such as animal care, animal rights and compassion. The narrative is atmospheric. The pace, neither slow nor fast, serves the narrative perfectly. I felt like I was learning and, in some ways, maturing at the same pace as the main character, Elin.

The editor description doesn’t do The Beast Player justice. It goes deeper than « a sweeping fantasy about a girl with the special power to communicate with magical beast - and about the warring kingdom only she can save ». It is an ode to nature.

The beast player is marketed as young adult which seems a bit narrowing. The story definitely works for young adult. But, in a different way, adult would enjoy it too. Many parts of the story give rise to subtil questioning. Questions about teaching and learning, human nature and animals rights, love and fear, etc., to which the reader is left to draw his own conclusions.

A beautiful discovery worthy of a lot more attention.