The Sword and the Sophomore

The fantasy-as-metaphor vibe of Tracy Deonn's Legendborn Cycle infused with the whip-smart self-awareness of Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls

Arlynn Rosemary Banson is an atypical sixteen-year-old—the cool, popular outsider, effortlessly straddling the line between divas and dorks. Her forever young mother, Jennifer, is dedicated to making her life awkward by trying to be her friend. Her father, Alan, is a workaholic history professor who barely acknowledges his family’s existence. Her boyfriend, Benz, the quarterback and homecoming king, has just broken up with her, while her best friend, Joslin, bears reluctant witness to Rosemary’s romantic drama. But nothing prepares any of them for a Welsh foreign exchange student named Emrys Balin. Emrys looks like a teenager, but he seems to act much, much older …

Rosemary discovers she is part of the Lust Borne Tide, children born to the royal line of King Uther Pendragon who are imbued with mystical powers after being conceived in lust. Rosemary’s parents are Guinevere and Lancelot, banished by King Arthur to twenty-first century suburban America prior to Rosemary’s birth as punishment for their affair. Rosemary is the third in the Lust Borne line, after King Arthur and his son Mordred, the latter of whom has traveled to the future to continue the line of the Lust Borne Tide by retrieving Rosemary and returning her to the late fifth century to conceive a child with her. But Rosemary has other plans—plans that involve training under Emrys and kicking Mordred’s butt, as long as it doesn’t interfere with prom or getting back with her boyfriend.

Action-packed and funny, but also serious and insightful, The Sword and the Sophomore goes beyond usual YA fantasy tropes to confront real-life teenage issues of social cliques, relationships, sexual agency, and profound personal loss.

"Terrifically entertaining! Sucks you into a whirlpool of teenage hormones, high-school life and Arthurian magic. Hilarious and engaging!"—Diana Gabaldon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Outlander series "A tongue-in-cheek, self-aware Arthurian fantasy set in a 21st-century American suburb that’s anchored by an empathetic, hilarious, whip-smart, fierce teen protagonist. The Sword and the Sophomore almost makes me want to write a young adult novel. Almost."—Pierce Brown, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Red Rising Saga

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Release date

Audiobook: 9 July 2024