The Sapling Cage: A Novel (Daughters of the Empty Throne, 1)

Author: Margaret Killjoy

Synopsis:
In the gripping first novel in the Daughters of the Empty Throne trilogy, author Margaret Killjoy spins a tale of earth magic, power struggle, and self-invention in an own-voices story of trans witchcraft. Lorel has always dreamed of becoming a witch: learning magic, fighting monsters, and exploring the world beyond the small town where she and her mother run the stables. Even though a strange plague is killing the trees in the Kingdom of Cekon and witches are being blamed for it, Lorel wants nothing more than to join them. There’s only one problem: all witches are women, and she was born a boy.

When the coven comes to claim her best friend, Lorel disguises herself in a dress and joins in her friend’s place, leaving home and her old self behind. She soon discovers the dark powers threatening the kingdom: a magical blight scars the land, and the power-mad Duchess Helte is crushing everything between her and the crown.

In spite of these dangers, Lorel makes friends and begins learning magic from the powerful witches in her coven. However, she fears that her new friends and mentors will find out her secret and kick her out of the coven, or worse.

Posts about this title from Discotopia | Diverse Books

Book Recommendations:

1. 25 book recs for the Trans Rights Readathon (and all year round!)

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Additional Notes:

Today I want to talk about one of my favourite authors, Margaret Killjoy. She’s a transfem author who writes the most brilliant fantasy / alternative world prose. I don’t like books that feel like they’re preaching at the expense of the narrative, and this does a masterful job of demonstrating how an alternative society could work, with a real emotional story along the way.

1. A Country of Ghosts
   This story is set in a fictional land at war, following a journalist from a capitalist society.

2. The Sapling Cage
   A trans teenage girl pretends to be her friend and joins a coven of witches.

3. The Immortal Choir Holds Every Voice
   A novella about a group of leftists telling stories while waiting at night.