The Loss of the Burying Ground

June 3, 2024
Two teens are the only survivors of a shipwreck in this swashbuckling fantasy from Coats (Spindle and Dagger). After years of fighting, countries Ariminthia, a monarchy, and Dura, a democracy, are on the verge of peace. Delegations from both nations are preparing to sign a treaty aboard the Burying Ground, a ship anchored in neutral waters, when a storm destroys the vessel. Cora, daughter of a Duran journalist, and Vivienne, lady’s maid to an Ariminthian princess, have a tense encounter upon washing up on the same uninhabited island, but the girls call a truce after evading capture by pirates and discover that much of what they’ve been told about the war and their enemies is false. Both resolve to advocate for amity going forward. Their determination is tested, however, when their Ariminthian rescuers blame Cora for the disaster and expect Vivienne to testify against her. Chapters following a Duran covert operative are woven amid Cora and Vivienne’s alternating narration. While survival initially comes too easy for the marooned duo and Vivienne at first lacks Cora’s complexity, patient readers will be rewarded with shocking reveals and conniving court intrigue. Most characters cue as white. Ages 14–up. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary.

July 1, 2024
Two girls from enemy countries find themselves inextricably linked after a shipwreck. When Cora, the daughter of a journalist from Dura, wakes up on a deserted island after surviving a shipwreck, she thinks she's alone until she finds her way to Vivienne, another survivor, who was lady's maid to the drowned princess of Ariminthia. The ship they were on, the Burying Ground, was intended to be the neutral location for the signing of a peace treaty between the two long-warring nations. But the ship went down before the treaty could be finalized, and Cora and Vivienne find themselves at the mercy of the elements and at risk from pirates; they're forced to form an uneasy partnership to stay alive while grieving the losses of those they knew on board. When they're unexpectedly rescued by an Ariminthian ship, the situation quickly becomes complicated and dangerous, with Cora being accused of war crimes. The girls must wade through the propaganda they've each been exposed to their entire lives, trying to learn the truth. Told in alternating first-person perspectives, the story moves quickly and paints a convincing portrait of the lives of ordinary citizens caught up in the political games of their governments. While the worldbuilding can be difficult to follow at first, it ultimately finds its footing, allowing Vivienne and Cora to take center stage. The characters have minimal physical descriptions and are racially ambiguous. An intriguing fantastical take on contemporary political themes. (Fantasy. 13-18)

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September 15, 2024
Grades 9-12 In the wake of the sinking of the ship the Burying Ground, erstwhile passenger Cora finds herself on a tropical island, the sole survivor--that is, until she meets another girl, Vivienne. The meeting does not go well, for Cora and Vivienne are from rival nations (Dura and Ariminthia, respectively) that have been at war for decades. Dodging an invasion of pirates, the girls are rescued by an Ariminthian ship. Unfortunately, Cora is deemed to be responsible for the sinking of the Burying Ground and is remanded to the brig. Arriving in Ariminthia, Cora is held for trial and certain execution, while Vivienne is offered a secure place in the retinue of the Royal Mother but opts to strike out on her own. Coats (A Season Most Unfair, 2023) has written an agreeable story of action and adventure that will hold readers' attention, though the plot becomes a bit complicated near its close. A truncated ending suggests the possibility of a sequel. Stay tuned, mateys.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 1, 2024
When the Burying Ground ship is destroyed while carrying peace delegations from warring nations Dura and Ariminthia, there are only two survivors. Cast up on a tiny island, Cora, a Duran, lives using all she's learned from "invasion readiness training"; Vivienne, maid to an Ariminthian princess, builds a shrine and believes that the drowned princess, sea, and island are conspiring to care for her and protect her country. When the two girls meet, their very different perspectives prove to be bemusing and illuminating, so much so that the political situation in their countries looks quite different to them by the time they are rescued. Together, they devise a way to fulfill the peace treaty that was the Burying Ground's mission, only to find that powerful interests from both nations connive to perpetuate war. Coats engages vital contemporary concerns -- financial and military interests, environmental heedlessness, political authoritarianism, dis- and misinformation, forms of resistance -- within this intricately plotted, brightly crafted fantasy. Machinations, plots, counterplots, and surprise revelations keep the momentum going right up to a cliffhanger of a last line. That and the two stalwart, earnest, ornery, and devoted protagonists should leave readers eager for a sequel. Deirdre F. Baker

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2024
When the Burying Ground ship is destroyed while carrying peace delegations from warring nations Dura and Ariminthia, there are only two survivors. Cast up on a tiny island, Cora, a Duran, lives using all she's learned from "invasion readiness training"; Vivienne, maid to an Ariminthian princess, builds a shrine and believes that the drowned princess, sea, and island are conspiring to care for her and protect her country. When the two girls meet, their very different perspectives prove to be bemusing and illuminating, so much so that the political situation in their countries looks quite different to them by the time they are rescued. Together, they devise a way to fulfill the peace treaty that was the Burying Ground's mission, only to find that powerful interests from both nations connive to perpetuate war. Coats engages vital contemporary concerns -- financial and military interests, environmental heedlessness, political authoritarianism, dis- and misinformation, forms of resistance -- within this intricately plotted, brightly crafted fantasy. Machinations, plots, counterplots, and surprise revelations keep the momentum going right up to a cliffhanger of a last line. That and the two stalwart, earnest, ornery, and devoted protagonists should leave readers eager for a sequel.

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)