Review of Poison by Bridget Zinn

Title/Author: Poison by Bridget Zinn
Publisher/Date published: Disney Hyperion, March 12th 2013
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley
Buy it at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: 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 be able to find and defeat the princess before Hal and the army find her?

Clearly I hadn't read the summary of this book well enough, because before starting it, I couldn't for the life of me figure out why their was a cute little pink pig on the cover. And now I do and she actually turned out to be one of my favourite characters!!

But really, let's start at the beginning.

In Poison we meet Kyra, we isn't your every day heroine, she's a potion-prodigy and is on the run from pretty much the whole kingdom because she tried to kill princess, who also happens to be her best friend. And then she missed. And I loved discovering bit by bit what exactly prompted Kyra to try and poison the princess. Mostly because there are also memories mixed in of their friendship and these girls are the real deal.
I loved slowly getting to know Kyra and I truly love this girl for her independance, her loyalty and her braveness. She may not have the best social skills, but she is a true friend when it comes down to it and I respect that.

Aside from loving the main character, there were also several other for me to love, mainly Fred and his giant hound and Rosie, the cute little pig. Fred is awesome. He is a bit of much needed sunshine in Kyra's life and I love how he just decided he would be her friend. He is just such a good guy and you know how I swoon for the good guys! And any guy who's an animal lover is extra swoonworthy in my book! And I kinda loved that he named Rosie.

Rosie is the little pig and I loved that without being able to speak, Bridget Zinn managed to really make her her own character and she was just so infinitely cute! I really want one of my own now! Well, until I remember a pig one of my friends in high school had who wasn't so cute...

The writing was wonderful and whimsical and just such a breath of fresh air! Every now and then I love to loose myself in a world where not everyone is getting killed or robbed or physically assaulted or anything and just have a fun time exploring a beautiful world. And Bridget Zinn did that for me and I loved every minute of it! And I loved that there was no cruelty to animals and I could just focus on the cuteness of them. I can easily see this being turned into a movie, and if so, I WILL WATCH IT!

Reading Poison felt like sitting down with one of my favourite fairytales and getting lost in the magic of it. It had all the things I want from a light fantasy: a strong heroine who has actual skills and is someone I could root for, cute animals to brighten the day (because really, what is better than a magical pig??), a good guy to roadtrip with, a little bit of sweet romance and a high stake puzzle to figure out.
I think it's a real loss for the literary world that Bridget Zinn passed away at such a young age because with Poison as her debut novel, I can only imagine what else she would have brought to the genre and I'm sure I would have devoured those books as well.

My rating: 5+ stars