This review originally posted at More Than Just Magic 
 This is a story about shadows. A story of blood. A story of magic. But above all it is the story of a girl finding her way in the world. 
 The big problem with book blogging is sometimes we get so swept up in all the new releases that we forget to look back at older titles. Which was one of the main motivations for me to join the Toronto chapter of the Forever Young Adult Book club. Though I haven't managed to participate every month, this month I'm really glad I did. 
 Plain Kate is a fantasy novel (witches!) but there is a very traditional folklore feel to the story. The writing style was simple and straight forward and yet still poetic. It's the kind of story that evokes a nostalgic feeling, reminding you of the fairy tales you were familiar with as a child - a young heroine, magic, danger and a valuable lesson all rolled into one. It was easy to imagine this as a tale passed down through generations, especially since Bow took so much care with the details of the setting. Plain Kate's world is one heavily influenced by medieval Russia and you can tell a lot of research was done in order to depict this world properly. Small details that may not seem important, really helped to bring it to life in my imagination and only added to the traditional, fairy-tale feel of the whole novel. 
 I have to admit that Plain Kate was much darker than I expected. This isn't a bad thing, just a surprising one. There are witch burnings, some blood lettings and some horribly violent townspeople. And it's not just violence that gives this book its edge. The theme of revenge is present throughout Kate's adventures. Through the character of Linay, Bow demonstrates how revenge can cloud someone's judgement and twist their soul. This dark tone to the story made it feel so much more urgent and frightening and it prevented me from putting the book down unless I absolutely had to. 
 In case you're worried that this book may be a little too dark for you - never fear! There is some much needed comedic relief throughout in the form of a talking cat named Taggle. Maybe it's because I was raised on Disney movies but I have a soft spot for animal companions - particularly talking ones. Bow perfectly captured the personality of a cat. A little aloof, a little snobby but still totally loveable. Taggle is sarcastic and at times a bit rude but he truly cared about Kate, and I found myself growing incredibly attached to him, as I'm sure most readers will. 
 Kate isn't your ordinary heroine. She wasn't "the chosen one." She was just an ordinary girl fighting to survive. I think her ordinariness (for lack of a better word) will really resonate with readers. It's easy to lose yourself in her story. And be prepared for the roller coaster ride of emotions - happiness, fear, depression, anger. You will feel it all! 
 And Plain Kate isn't your ordinary YA novel - there is no love story, there are no sequels and a times you genuinely don't know if everything is going to work out or not. It is a beautifully crafted gem of a novel that I highly recommend (especially for fans of Tamora Pierce, Garth Nix and Ursula K Le Guin).