[Book review] The Boy from Ilysies by Pearl North

Click image to purchase from Amazon

Last year, Pearl North’s Libyrinth was a breath of fresh air in the young adult genre.  It sang the praises of books and literacy and built a story around a compelling setting.  Now North returns to the Libyrinth with The Boy From Ilysies, a tale about acceptance and preconceptions.

Po has trouble feeling like he fits in at the Libyrinth.  His Ilysian upbringing demands that he defer to women and treat men as competition, but the Libyrarians are trying to build a society based on equality.  Thus, Po always feels like he’s making mistakes.

When he gets embroiled in a disaster that could cost the Libyrinth its independence, he leaves with the Chorus of the Word, both to spread word of the Libyrinth’s work and to get away from those who would be hostile towards him.  It’s a journey that will test him physically, mentally and emotionally; and ultimately, it will force him to question the values that he’s held dear his entire life.


For a young adult novel, The Boy From Ilysies is surprisingly complex.  Po’s cultural values set him apart from all the other characters, especially since they’re so deeply internalized.  He constantly has to analyze every interaction and every conversation to try to determine how to react.  And in the beginning, it’s easy to see that he’s evaluating everyone based on his own preconceptions, regardless of the fact that they’re not Ilysian.  It doesn’t even seem to occur to him that he’s doing so.  The author manages to paint this not as if he’s being stubborn, but as if he simply can’t yet realize that his efforts to fit in are being hampered.

As the novel goes on, Po begins to see what he’s doing and to try to honestly combat it.  But the reader must now question if this is a good thing or not.  For instance, Po has been taught that the worst thing a man can do is strike a woman.  It’s such a sin that Po would instantly attack any man who struck a woman.  However, for Po to lose his cultural conditioning means that he must accept that there are people who see no wrong in hitting a woman.  While Po is losing the automatic urge to violence towards men, he finds that he must accept that there will be violence towards women.  It’s a meaty conundrum to chew on, and it certainly should give readers pause for thought about their own preconceived notions of people and what they value.

The setting of this novel is a huge change from the first one.  While Libyrinth was set mostly in the Libyrinth itself, this second novel ranges farther afield and brings the Libyrarians into contact with people from differing cultures and values.  Much like Po’s internal journey to alter his own worldview, the Libyrinth community as a whole is on a similar journey—one that they hope will bring about equality.  Where the first novel can be said to have been more of an internally-focused tale, this one looks outward to the greater society of the world.

On a purely plot-driven level, this novel excels.  There is plenty of action and danger, with perils to be overcome and a race against time to save the Libyrinth community from disaster.  Even if readers don’t feel like exploring the intricacies of Po’s struggles (although I find it hard to believe that you could fail to get sucked into them), the tightly woven action and peril makes this a fast read.

Personally, I can’t wait for the final book to come out.  North left some plot threads unresolved at the end of the novel, and I’m interested to see how they get resolved.  The Boy From Ilysies proves that young adult novels don’t have to be nothing more than sparkly vampires and teen angst.  North’s story has passion, depth and thoughtfulness.  I highly recommend this book to anybody who likes a good yarn that will make them think.

Read an excerpt

Also by this author: Libyrinth

This book was provided by the publisher.