Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

This is the story of Yelena--a prisoner on death row in the commander's dungeon. She has murdered her benefactor's son, but has been given a second chance at life--as the commander's poison taster. She begins her study of poisons, but her life is complicated as her former benefactor seeks her death and as she learns self-defense and discovers that she is the possessor of a magical talent--a possession that is illegal and if discovered will lead to her execution.

This is one of my very favorite YA novels. It has adventure, magic, complex emotions, love, fighting... I really like it. I really engaged with the main characters and I find the contrast between Ixia and Sitia (the North and South countries on this continent) very interesting. It compares two governments: a military dictatorship and a committee/council-led government. The evils and benefits of both are dispassionately noted. I actually end up preferring the military dictatorship in this book even though in real life I find the idea horrifying. Actually, I'm jumping ahead a little bit. This book "Poison Study" is the first book in this 3 book series and it takes place completely in Ixia, the country of the military dictatorship. The second book "Magic Study" takes place completely in Sitia and that allows the comparison. My next review will be for "Magic Study".

Be cautioned: Yelena was tortured and raped before she was sent to prison. Throughout this book she remembers these experiences as she tries to recover from them emotionally and mentally. I found this marginally disturbing, but her recovery and her revenge made it interesting enough for me to not be too bothered by her memories. Another caution: There is premarital sex here. In a dungeon, in rotten hay, after Yelena has vomited repeatedly and after she and her lover have been in the dungeon for at least 24 hours. Oooh. Sexy. Another instance of fictional sex that I daresay would NOT be in the least plausible in real life by normal people. That's kind of weird, and I wish it weren't there, but... it is. And it's not graphic in the least.

A very memorable book. The best in the series, as a matter of fact. I really like this one.