Review and Tribute: Poison by Bridget Zinn #Poison

Today I want to repost a review that I had put up on Contessa at the Crossroads. This review is a tribute to Bridget Zinn and her book Poison.

What an inspiration this author was to the book community. And I say was because unfortunately she passed last year. It makes me sad to know she will never be able to contribute to the writing community again. At the same time, I am humbled by the outpouring of support and love given to this author, her book and her family for this first week of her book's debut.

So here's my review. I hope you enjoy it, I hope you add it, I hope you read it, and I hope you give your support as so many others have.

Blurb from Goodreads:
Sixteen-year-old Kyra, a highly-skilled potions master, is the only one who knows her kingdom is on the verge of destruction—which means she’s the only one who can save it. Faced with no other choice, Kyra decides to do what she does best: poison the kingdom’s future ruler, who also happens to be her former best friend.
But, for the first time ever, her poisoned dart . . . misses.
Now a fugitive instead of a hero, Kyra is caught in a game of hide-and-seek with the king’s army and her potioner ex-boyfriend, Hal. At least she’s not alone. She’s armed with her vital potions, a too-cute pig, and Fred, the charming adventurer she can’t stop thinking about. Kyra is determined to get herself a second chance (at murder), but will she b
Kyra is not your typical murderer, and she’s certainly no damsel-in-distress—she’s the lovable and quick-witted hero of this romantic novel that has all the right ingredients to make teen girls swoon.

Title: Poison
Author: Bridget Zinn
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Publication Date: March 12, 2013

My Review:

I want to thank Netgalley and Disney/Hyperion for providing me with a copy of this book to read and give an honest review. Receiving this book for free has in no way influenced my opinion or review.

When I first saw the cover of this book, I instantly knew that I had to read it. It's just so gorgeous. It exudes fantasy, which I have always been drawn to.

I really loved Kyra's character. There was nothing typical teenager about her. She was honest and strong. She knew what she wanted, what she needed to do and how she needed to do it. She was a kick butt heroine for sure.
And Fred, oh Fred. He's awesome. He's sweet and funny, sexy and swoon worthy. It was great to watch his banter with Kyra. And I loved how he had his nick name for her, Kitten. He's goofy and certainly not your typical hero.
The bad guys, well, they were typical of bad guys. So not much to say about them. But I think my favorite character might just have been the cute little pig, Rosie!

The story was certainly a cute fairy tale. It was creative and funny while keeping with the normal adventure you see in such fantasy worlds. I really loved Zinn's writing. It flows easily and is a light read. I felt it really would be geared better to a younger audience, despite the age of the characters. More of a middle grade read than young adult. I felt like there were certainly predictable parts, but at the same time there were twists I couldn't see coming.

All in all I enjoyed this book and was saddened to learn that the author had passed prior to being able to see the full impact her work would have had

Bridget grew up in Wisconsin. She went to the county fair where she met the love of her life, Barrett Dowell. They got married right before she went in for exploratory surgery which revealed she had colon cancer. They christened that summer the "summer of love" and the two celebrated with several more weddings. Bridget continued to read and write until the day she died. Her last tweet was "Sunshine and a brand new book. Perfect."
Bridget wanted to make people laugh and hoped readers would enjoy spending time with the characters she created. As a librarian/writer she loved books with strong young women with aspirations. She also felt teens needed more humorous reads. She really wanted to write a book with pockets of warmth and happiness and hoped that her readers' copies would show the watermarks of many bath time reads.


When not writing young adult masterpieces or working on world domination, I spend my time cooking, traveling, making films and taking my ball gown out for trips around town.
My current secret lair resides somewhere in (shhh...) Portland, OR where I plot daring adventures with my husband and two cats