I'm a sucker for a book that twists language into something lyrical and magical. The Turnaway Girls does just that as it sets up a world where making shimmer/gold from music is not only possible, but something destined from birth.

Delphernia Undersea is a turnaway girl who can't do any of the things turnaway girls are meant to do. She can't make shimmer, she can't stop asking questions or thinking for herself, and she can't help but sing. Only when she's alone with her birds, though, because "girls with singing throats are swallowed by the sea."

As the book unfolds, we learn more about the world Delphernia inhabits and its history. If you're like me and you perk up at the merest hint of backstory, you'll be happy to know that quite a bit of it is delivered as promised and most of the questions I had were answered by the end of the book.

There are queens and princes and falling apart castles, as well as monsters both human and otherwise, and the important lesson of what love isn't.

The only thing that kept me from giving this a perfect score is that it relies far too much on Delphernia and Bly not communicating at all. He takes her from her cloister and they spend their first day or so together and then... that's it. He's forever away in his cave and Delphernia never mentions going after him and they never talk, but we're forever in dread of him mentioning her singing even though it's obvious to even Delphernia that he knows she can and does sing. Naturally it's only brought to a head once it's time for a Big Dramatic Rescue. Why? Did I gloss over the reasoning (beyond Bly being a little off) or is it simply a case of forced dramatic tension? Hell, Bly explicitly warns Delphernia during their first conversation not to trust the Childer-queen and yet she and Delphernia spend far more time talking than we ever see with Bly.

In any case, the story is written beautifully and I enjoyed it.

I received an ARC of this book and this was the honest review. Huzzah.