The task is simple: Don a disguise. Survive the labyrinth . . . Best the boys. Every year for the past fifty-four years, the residents of Pinsbury Port have received a mysterious letter inviting all eligible-aged boys to compete for an esteemed scholarship to the all-male Stemwick University. The poorer residents look to see if their names are on the list. The wealthier look to see how likely … likely their sons are to survive. And Rhen Tellur opens it to see if she can derive which substances the ink and parchment are created from, using her father’s microscope.
In the province of Caldon, where women train in wifely duties and men pursue collegiate education, sixteen-year-old Rhen Tellur wants nothing more than to become a scientist. As the poor of her seaside town fall prey to a deadly disease, she and her father work desperately to find a cure. But when her mum succumbs to it as well? Rhen decides to take the future into her own hands–through the annual all-male scholarship competition.
With her cousin, Seleni, by her side, the girls don disguises and enter Mr. Holm’s labyrinth, to best the boys and claim the scholarship prize. Except not everyone is ready for a girl who doesn’t know her place. And not everyone survives the deadly maze.
Welcome to the labyrinth.
Praise for To Best the Boys:
“Atmospheric, romantic, inspiring.” –KRISTEN CICCARELLI, internationally bestselling author of The Last Namsara
“Smart, determined, and ready to take on the world: Rhen Tellur is an outstanding heroine with every reason to win a competition historically intended for boys.” –Jodi Meadows, New York Times bestselling author of The Incarnate Trilogy and coauthor of My Lady Jane
A “Hunger Games/Handmaid’s Tale mash-up.” –BN Teen Blog
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Why has it taken me this long to read a book by Mary Weber? I’m now a confirmed fan, and To Best the Boys was an absolute delight to read.
You can’t help falling in love with Rhen. She’s exceptionally intelligent, compassionate, driven, and is more comfortable in the presence of dead bodies than at an opulent party. She’s also dyslexic, and has found ways to succeed in spite of it. Although society expects her to be content with ‘wifely duties’, she sees a different future for herself, and takes risky steps to make it happen. It’s important to mention that when Rhen’s cousin, Seleni, says being a wife and mother is what she wants, her choice isn’t disparaged – it’s the path that’s right for her. And that’s what this book is about – knowing what’s right for you, and not compromising your dreams to fit someone else’s expectations.
It’s also about outsmarting the labyrinth. Riddles, creatures, death, dangerous feats – all lie within, and you’ll be holding your breath through some tension-filled moments. Besides all of that, ghosts and sirens are also dangerous elements in this world, inhabiting the streets and sea at night.
I have to mention Rhen’s relationships with her parents, Seleni, and her other friends – all are honest, loving, and done so well. Everyone needs their support people.
To Best the Boys is an exciting adventure with a splash of a mystery, and I’d highly recommend it to young women interested in STEM. And as a bonus, there’s a mouth-watering recipe for Labyrinth Cookies! A joy to read from beginning to end.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC.
Fascinating tale of feminism in a world where women are not yet able to do anything but get married off to hopefully better their position in society, almost never for love. The heroine Rhen has been homeschooled by her father who is of a lower status than her mother’s family. When her mother married him she was disowned from the family.
Rhen wants to be a scientist like her father and wants to cure a plague like disease that is running rampant through the lower classes. Her mother is dying of the disease end her and her father are working on it but don’t have the tools or supplies needed to really study the disease and the uppers don’t care about it since they believe it only exists because the lowers are unsanitary.
Every year a tournament is held for a full ride scholarship to the university but it is only for males. They have to make it through a magical labyrinth first and without getting magically thrown out of the maze, eaten by the ghouls and creatures or killed in any of the traps. It is an extremely adventurous and thrilling book.
Meanwhile Rhen has a rich suiter, Vincent, whom she doesn’t really like but seems to be pushing her into becoming his. He is also the upper that her parents would like her to be with, and her extended family as well who have helped her out despite disowning her mother. However, Rhen has a crush on a fisherman named Lute who is a lower.
In a way it is a mix between the hunger games and some of the tournaments in the Harry Potter books. Either way, I loved it. I was enthralled throughout. There were so many dynamic characters in the story and some very unexpected plot twists that made the book one of my favorites this year.
For the girl who’s been told to quiet down, calm down, sit down, or just leave it to the men-this is for you. And to those who told you such things? Watch. Us. Rise. – love this!
To Best the Boys to me was a slow burn and yet exciting story with an awesome girl protagonist! Reading this book felt like a treasure hunt!
I requested to read this book based off the person and cover alone. I was not disappointed.
To Best the Boys is a book all women should read. It’s uplifting, empowering, and emotional in all the right places. Rhen Tellur makes a fantastic heroine as she journeys through the questions of life and what it means to be a woman with dreams.
I also believe that men should read this book. It will show them the many facets women go through. Not to mention the monsters, illusions, and downright intriguing plot will hook you in.
Young or old, I believe this story will appeal to all. And I really, really think this should be a movie. I’d break my rule and watch it in IMAX All in all, this is a keeper and one I feel I would revisit and reread again.
*I received a complimentary from the publisher via NetGalley. This review was not required nor influenced.
I loved this book from start to finish
First let me say I normally don’t read this type of book and have tried a couple of previous titles by this author and couldn’t finish them. I was torn between 3.5 and 4 stars for this one but settled on 4 because I felt the writing was wonderful and the characters pulled me into their world. I especially loved the character of Mr. Holm, and the surprising reveal. The story is slow moving at first, but I enjoyed getting to know the characters and family ties and real life crisis. At the end I was actually hoping for a sequel because I wanted more.
I received a complimentary copy from Thomas Nelson & Zondervan Fiction Guild. The honest review and opinions are my own and were not required.
To Best the Boys was a pretty good read by Mary Weber. I give it four stars and recommend it to other readers.
Inspiration and encouragement for young girls. You can make it own your own. Your dreams, hopes can be fulfilled without a male. To stand as you are without a disguise. Interesting how times have changed
Given ARC by Thomas Nelson for my voluntary review and my honest opinion.
Nice coming of age book
I received a copy of this book from The Fiction Guild, I was not required to give a favorable review. This was a nice young adult book that shows that girls can do as much as boys even in the hardest of test. But when you have to dress as a boy to overcome the thought that a girl can’t do it. I would recommend this book for anyone who is young.
It starts off slow for the first half, but once it gets going, it gets going hard.
a great adventure, strong characters, and the story builds to a fantastic ending!
For 54 years in the province of Caldon, the town of Pinsbury Port has received an annual invitation for their university aged sons to compete in a treacherous labyrinth of wits in hopes of winning a scholarship to Stemwick University sponsored by the elusive Mr. Holm.
Rhen Tellur is tired of helplessly watching a mysterious mutating disease drain the life of her mother and that of those she loves. She is tired of the Uppers disdain and indifferent to the seriousness of the plague. Rhen is gifted with a knack for numbers and the sciences, but in a world where gender roles are strictly defined, going to university or studying the arts and sciences is forbidden. Rhen decides to take matters into her own hands with her best friend, Seleni, by her side, she steps into the maze.
Set in a fictional realm that is like something out of a Jules Verne novel with a heightened element of illusion and strict social adherence to stereotypical gender roles and expectations. Intriguing, with a fascinating premise, the story begins by setting the scene, but it isn’t until about 1/3 of the way through the book that it really takes off. When I hit the 1/3 mark I couldn’t put it down.
Strong themes of friendship, courage, and coming of age run through this story, and I especially liked the friendship between Rhen and Seleni. But I was disappointed that while published by Thomas Nelson it gave no indication of being a Christian read, despite being technically “clean” depending on the age of the audience–comments about a female character’s body are made, males make suggestive comments, and women are talked about as if they are conquests. I feel that this book would have been a better fit with HarperCollins’ Blink imprint, which is more of a clean teen reads division of their brand.
I admired Rhen for her devotion to her family, she is level-headed in tense situations and is willing to stand apart from the crowd. Seleni is her best friend and confidant, she doesn’t want to fight the societal norms, but rather be there through thick and thin for her friend. Seleni and Beryll are one of my favorite things about this book. I enjoyed the imaginative setting and camaraderie between some of the contestants, as well as the at times witty dialogue. Fraught with tension and adventure, the pages kept flying by. This was an enjoyable high stakes adventure, with a strong heroine with the courage to blaze her own path.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I enjoyed this one so much! It’s not overly complicated or intense, but I loved the message and I adored all of the characters. They just jump off the page. (Lute Wilkes is my new book boyfriend, okay?)
It wasn’t quite five stars, maybe 4: the writing was choppy at times, and sometimes I’d find my attention wandering, and I’m a little confused about how someone can tell whether someone else is blushing in the dark (this happened fairly frequently), but I’m giving it five stars because overall it was fun, I loved the characters, and I love books about girl power and pushing against societal standards.
I went into this book with such high expectations and am thrilled to state that the author met every single one of them. To Best The Boys by Mary Weber spins a tale of a young female scientist who has to fight hard to obtain what should be simple human rights. Our wonderfully brilliant heroine, Rhen Tellur, was born into a world where only the men can succeed on a educational level, and that’s by attending the Stemwick University. With little to no time, she decides to force her way into the system by cutting off all her hair and dressing like a boy, then diving head first into a competition inside Mr. Holm’s mysterious labyrinth to see who gets the scholarship.
Things inside the labyrinth are magical and dangerous, but on the outside, a political war between the Lowers and the Uppers is brewing. Things in society need to change, or there’s going to be a rebellion, and not everyone is going to survive it. I adored this aspect of the book because the author paints such a thrilling picture when it comes to the politicians—their shark-like smiles, and their upturned noses.
And lets talk a little bit about our girl Rhen. She’s such an interesting and unique character! Her love for her friends and family knows no bounds, and her interests are only a slight bit macabre. I mean, who would want a life of frilly dresses and pleasing your husband when there’s dead bodies to be examined and diseases to be researched?
I especially enjoyed the light humor displayed in the letters from Mr. Holm. It made the story charming and made it feel less dark. I can’t wait to have a copy of this in my hands once it gets published because I definitely want this five star book sitting on my shelf!
Man, that ending was the best. Lute—all the heart eyes for you. Love the message in this tale. Maybe a bit slower to start and I thought more focus would be in the labyrinth game and the ghouls were kind of creepy…but I still loved the story and characters and the writing and, yeah, that ending. Sigh.
The thing that I really loved about this book was the characters that Weber created. I wanted to root for Rehn the whole time and found myself not wanting to put the book down because I needed to know what happened to her. I found her to be delightfully sassy and outspoken. I also enjoyed the cast of supporting characters, including the villainous tending ones. I also loved the labyrinth part of the story, although it seemed much to short a part of the book for my tastes. I wish the competition section had been longer to really build the setting. I feel like for once a book lacked some of the world building I like to see. Weber tells us there are monsters but we don’t see any of the effects of that in the story. The town doesn’t seem to need protection from them, there is no talk of their effect on jobs or lives. I think delving into that a bit more would have added more atmosphere to the book. Overall it was a really fun read that I would recommend to anyone looking for a girl power YA fantasy read that is quick. This book would also be suitable for middle grade readers.
This book was amazing! There was so much about it that was original, and yet so much of it that reminded me of other stories. Some things, like the clothing and also the interactions between the rich and poor, reminded me of Little House on the Prairie for some reason. And then there were parts with the competition that made me think of The Maze Runner. The romance was great, and the science was great, and all of the characters were interesting. So much of this fits into the type of climate of society and the world right now. There was even one scene where Rhen and her cousin Seleni, disguised as boys, hear the other boys discuss them, not knowing they’re there since they think they are boys. And that bit reminded me somewhat of a scene in Twilight, from Rose’s back story. There was also the one male character that as a reader I was unsure how much to trust them or if they would turn out to be good in the end. So I was surprised by one that turned out to not be good, to have double-crossed everyone, including his own partners in crime. And then the part at the end about they don’t want a girl taking a test at the same place as the boys taking the test, because she would distract them? Wow, I totally rolled my eyes along with the girl character in that scene.
A great book, I’ll look forward to reading more by this author in the future, or going back to pick up the ones I missed.
This is such a great book! In all honesty, I would not have decided to pick this book up on my own. I didn’t think it would be something I enjoyed, but the moment I started reading I realized just how wrong I was.
This book follows a girl who has a lot to fight for, and the way she overcomes challenges is very inspirational.
My review cannot do this book justice, it was just that good. The plot was well developed and I think that the world building was okay. I only had one problem, which was that I couldn’t figure out the time period. There were a few twists that I did not see coming, whether it be because I was so enveloped by the story I couldn’t see it right in front of me, or because of my stupidity, I do not know. The characters were well developed, and the descriptions were well done. They weren’t overdone, or in need of development. I could clearly picture the areas Rhen was in. I could not put it down, and when I did I couldn’t stop thinking about this book! I’m so sad that I finished, and I wish there was more. I think that everyone should give this book a chance, especially if they are debating whether or not to read it.
It’s really hard to put into words all the emotions I felt reading this book and when I wasn’t reading it all the emotions of WANTING to read it.
I’ve waited to read this book for a bit, because of other commitments and I kept seeing it and it called to me.
There’s just something about Mary Weber’s books which draw you in even when the book is closed! They hauntingly call to you. This was one such book!
At first, I thought oh a fun story about young girls dupping boys, but there was so much more to this story! After all, it is a Mary Weber book! If you’ve ever read any of her books you know she writes with just a touch of fantasy in a real world which will make you think, “Wait, can that be possible?”
This story shows how a girl of lower class can have dreams, drive, and skills to achieve anything a boy can.
I love the picture of strength and courage Rhen uses, to meet all the challenges she has. I also love the fun relationship she has with her cousin. Even though Rhen feels alone, she really does have someone who is there for her.
I want to thank Mary Weber for choosing to place in this book many characters who the world might not notice. Those, who might be shunned or looked down upon. She brings to life the sweetness and courage of these people.
This book will be one I’ll carry with me for a long time. It was full of wonder, strength, courage, hope, and yet there were bits of darkness, mystery, magic, suspense, and romance. (I liked the last bit on that list!)
What truly stood out for me was – HAVE COURAGE! Dare to dream and dream big!
I highly recommend you pick this book up! But be prepared to possibly not be able to put it down!
I received a copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley. All opinions and my own.
Sometimes there are no words, and I really feel like this with this story. Incredible, inspiring, and infuriating all at the same time. I was really frustrated along with the girls, and they were very realistic in their emotionally complex journey to fight for the same opportunities as the boys. Class and gender equality become very real struggles with these characters, as they are for so many of us in real life, and this story will be very relatable to so many readers because of this. I love Weber’s books and knew that I was in for a treat with this one, but I was really and truly impressed with her fearlessness in both the story and characterization.