A Prayer for Vengeance

A Prayer for Vengeance by Leanne Schwartz is a story about a girl turned to stone, and an autistic boy who accidently revives her. I couldn’t wait to read this one, as autism rep in a fantasy story is quite rare. But this book is so much more than just autism, there are so many good things! The main character Gia is fat, and she has her issues with that but also learns to love herself. She is also a fierce warrior, and really badass if a bit rash. She was turned to stone by Ennio, who she adored, but Ennio betrayed her and her sister who ruled at the time, and turned them and their companions into stone. Fast forward a while, and Gia gets out of the stone because of Milo, and she sees that the world has changed entirely and the truth has been buried underneath religious lies – lies that Milo has learned all his life and believes with a passion. You can see the parallels with today’s society, and I loved that!

But now, about the autism rep since that is why I requested this book: I loved it. This is how autism rep should be done! It just exists inside this fantasy story, but not as the main focus. You can really see the ‘tism in Milo’s thinking, and how he responds, and it’s amazing how you can look inside his head. I could really identify with him, and he is very likeable, a cinnamon roll that learns how to be brave and make his own decisions. Sometimes I wished the autism was a little more visible in the form of maybe stimming or a meltdown/shutdown (as quite distressing things are happening), but to have it just exist in the story is enough for me.

The relationships are the strongest thing in this book for me. Sisterly love, queer love on the side, and lots of friendship. I love how Gia en Milo’s relationship grows. And their characters have quite a bit of growth too, I love how Gia grows to see the bigger picture.

Plotwise, I have to say it took me a while to get into this book. The beginning felt really slow, while the end for me was a little too fast. This book seems to be fast paced and action packed, yet it feels slow to read? I don’t know how to explain it exactly. I did love the story quite a lot and kept reading, so it isn’t that big of a deal, but I have to say something felt off. The story was amazing, very layered and lots of action. Love the villain! The world was very much centered around religion, and not so much explored, but I’m ok with that. The ending was amazing… I love how there’s accountability for everyone’s actions including the good guys.

I give this book 4 stars as I really enjoyed it. The autism rep and the relationships were the strongest part for me, and I loved the characters.

I received a free e-arc through Netgalley but it hasn’t influenced my opinions.