The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy
From the acclaimed author of The Real Boy and The Lost Girl comes a wondrous and provocative fantasy about a kingdom beset by monsters, a mysterious school, and a girl caught in between them.
If no one notices Marya Lupu, is likely because of her brother, Luka. And that’s because of what everyone knows: that Luka is destined to become a sorcerer.
The Lupus might be from a small village far from the capital city of Illyria, but that doesn’t matter. Every young boy born in in the kingdom holds the potential for the rare ability to wield magic, to protect the country from the terrifying force known only as the Dread.
For all the hopes the family has for Luka, no one has any for Marya, who can never seem to do anything right. But even so, no one is prepared for the day that the sorcerers finally arrive to test Luka for magical ability, and Marya makes a terrible mistake. Nor the day after, when the Lupus receive a letter from a place called Dragomir Academy—a mysterious school for wayward young girls. Girls like Marya.
Soon she is a hundred miles from home, in a strange and unfamiliar place, surrounded by girls she’s never met. Dragomir Academy promises Marya and her classmates a chance to make something of themselves in service to one of the country’s powerful sorcerers. But as they learn how to fit into a world with no place for them, they begin to discover things about the magic the men of their country wield, as well as the Dread itself—things that threaten the precarious balance upon which Illyria is built.
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Community Reviews
The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy may be categorized for young readers, but the feminist themes empower young girls not to fear their voices and question injustice.
Excellent Story for Young Girls
Ursu did a fantastic job of putting this story together and creating an empowering narrative for young girls.
In the world that Ursu has created, girls are often overlooked. Girls like Marya are treated less than because of their gender. No one notices her. No one expects anything of her. In contrast, everyone expects things from her brother. They expect him to be a sorcerer, to be somebody in the community.
Moreover, when Mayra is summoned to the Dragomir Academy for Troubled Girls, the reader sees how the school systematically tries to silence the girls, to break them of their “troublesome” behavior.
These are young girls who ask questions, voice their opinions, and seek to carve out futures for themselves outside of the constraints society has set for them.
However, more importantly, they are trying to silence the fire within these girls. Nevertheless, Marya will not let herself be silenced. Her voice is her power, her eagerness to learn more, to see past all the lies masqueraded as pretty words.
This is a world that fears women with power and calls them a witch. But what if a witch is just another word for a sorceress?
It is incredibly humbling and empowering to read this narrative, to see Ursu fight to give young girls a voice, one that teaches them to step out of the mold society deems “appropriate.” Ursu is encouraging young girls to learn, ask questions, trust their guts, and see past the pretty words people throw at them. She is encouraging girls to love the sound of their voices and fight against being silenced.
Final Thoughts
The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy is an empowering read. The scene structure, the world-building, and the character growth are reachable to young readers. It is an accessible story that older audiences can appreciate as well.
As a thirty-year-old woman, I wish I had had something like this to read as a child. However, it is encouraging to read a story about girls from different backgrounds put into a school because of their outspoken minds and fire.
It has the depth and maturity to stand out to readers and empower young girls to find their voice even when they think they have one.
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