A New Voice in YA Fantasy: Memory, Liminality and Identity in Immortal Consequences

Book Cover Immortal Consequences

Where Magic Meets Memory

Author I.V. Marie

I.V. Marie’s Immortal Consequences is a young adult fantasy novel that explores the supernatural through the emotion-rich journeys of young people in a dark academia setting. The story takes place at Blackwood Academy, a school in a purgatory between life and the afterlife where students who have died learn to reap souls. The author incorporates magic, trials, and politics to produce a narrative intertwined with grief and memory. The worldbuilding elements combined with characters’ nuanced emotional experiences offer depth beyond the general expectations for young adult fiction. 

POVs that Pull You In

The main protagonist of the book is Wren Loughty, a self-driven and competitive student at Blackwood who strives to develop her skills but is simultaneously unsettled by fear and guilt from her past. Wren becomes entangled in a rivalry with Augustine Hughes that creates tension between irritation and understanding. The dynamic nature of Wren and August’s relationship develops the character profile of both characters and provides emotional friction. The story is told through the format of multiple points of view of students at Blackwood, which provides readers with different perspectives and personalities in the same environment. Emilio, Irene, Olivier and Masika are characters that vary in insecurities, motives, and perspectives that are developed within their corresponding chapters. 

“The dynamic nature of Wren and August’s relationship… provides emotional friction”.

The method of worldbuilding in the book offers a refreshing style. Rather than writing long descriptions of the dark academia setting, Marie crafts imagery through the daily experiences of characters. Seemingly mundane events, such as Wren’s insomnia and Emilio’s academic-driven anxiety, reflect the effect of Blackwood’s environment on its students. This worldbuilding style produces an effectively paced story while preserving depth in setting and emotion. Scenes such as Emilio holding a flame to his arm in search of physical sensation lost after death illustrate the psychological torment of existing in purgatory.

The Terror of Forgetting

One of the most prominent thematic elements present in the book is memory as a form of trauma, expressed through a process known as Forgetting. The Forgetting is a gradual process of losing memories from once’s experience alive. In the book, the narration explains this consequential process as students who lose all memory of their life transitioning to become hollow “Forgotten” who eternally wander the Ether as shells of themselves (Marie, Immortal Consequences, p. 226). The eerie concept of losing consciousness after already losing life illustrates uncertainties of the significance of sentience without memories. The Forgetting functions as a form of control imposed on the students by Blackwood’s gradual erasure of students’ identities. 

“ [Immortal Consequences’] cultural elements are apparent in how the book illustrates spaces between life and the afterlife”.

The book does not solely focus on Latinx cultural identity; however, the book’s themes resonate with experiences in Latinx contexts. Specifically, such cultural elements are apparent in how the book illustrates spaces between life and the afterlife. The nature of the purgatory environment in the book signifies that the characters exist as physical and emotional beings in a liminal space in between life and the afterlife. This in-betweenness extends to other themes in the book such as remembrance versus forgetting and powerlessness versus power. These in-between spaces evident throughout the book reflect how young Latinx people may feel caught between different cultures or societal expectations. 

The Importance of Self and Representation 

The book also illustrates how institutions shape one’s sense of self, which reflects real-life operations of gender and power in different contexts in the Americas. In the book, institutional structures influence the presence of gendered expectations in Blackwood. Wren, Irene and Masika as young women at the academy function in an environment that is rewarding under the expectation of emotional restraint and near-perfect performance. These expectations imposed by the academy echo pressures faced by women in real life in the context of academic or professional institutions. 

“The book also illustrates how institutions shape one’s sense of self, which reflects real-life operations of gender and power in different contexts in the Americas"

Additionally, the book includes realistic queer relationship representation. For instance, the relationship between Emilio and Olivier is written with complexity and vulnerability rather than relying on stereotypes. The emotional intimacy of Emilio and Olivier illustrates a form of resistance to oppressing systems in which they exist.

A Standout in YA Dark Academia

While developing these broader social themes, Immortal Consequences also offers a highly engaging fantasy story. The Decennial trials and political tensions between Blackwood and the Demien Order enrich the storyline. However, the emotional center of the book is what stays with the reader. Marie utilizes the liminal setting of the purgatory to develop characters that are faced with reflecting on their past and who they desire to become. This journey of the characters mirrors real-world struggles surrounding growth and uncertainty about the future.

| “Marie utilizes the liminal setting of the purgatory to develop characters that are faced with reflecting on their past and who they desire to become.”

Immortal Consequences is a strong debut that combines fantasy elements with themes reflecting identity, memory, trauma, and connection. The thoughtfulness in character development and emotional nuance make this book a significant contribution to young adult fantasy that offers readers a resonant story centered on themes of liminality, identity and power.