Review: The Thirteenth Child

The Thirteenth Child by Erin A Craig

Published By: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: September 24, 2024
Date Read: August 28, 2026
Genre: YA – Gothic Fantasy
Source: Bought
Format: Paperback
Pages: 498

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This is the story of Hazel, a young healer navigating a ruthless court to save the life of the king, grappling with a pantheon of gods with questionable agendas as she fights for agency and true love in her own life as the goddaughter of none other than Death himself.

All gifts come with a price.

Hazel Trépas has always known she wasn’t like the rest of her siblings. A thirteenth child, promised away to one of the gods, she spends her childhood waiting for her godfather—Merrick, the Dreaded End—to arrive.

When he does, he lays out exactly how he’s planned Hazel’s future. She will become a great healer, known throughout the kingdom for her precision and skill. To aid her endeavors, Merrick blesses Hazel with a gift, the ability to instantly deduce the exact cure needed to treat the sick.

But all gifts come with a price. Hazel can see when Death has claimed a patient—when all hope is gone—and is tasked to end their suffering, permanently. Haunted by the ghosts of those she’s killed, Hazel longs to run. But destiny brings her to the royal court, where she meets Leo, a rakish prince with a disdain for everything and everyone. And it’s where Hazel faces her biggest dilemma yet—to save the life of a king marked to die. Hazel knows what she is meant to do and knows what her heart is urging her toward, but what will happen if she goes against the will of Death?

From the astonishing mind of Erin A. Craig comes the breathtaking fairy tale retelling readers have been waiting for— what does a life well-lived mean, and how do we justify the impossible choices we make for the ones we love?

Erin A Craig has been an author on my radar for quite a while. Many of her books have sat on my ‘spooky season’ TBR for years, but I just never got around to them. So when my book club’s prompt was to ‘read a book with a number in the title’, it felt like the perfect time to finally pick one of her books up. In addition to this, I was craving some spooky season vibes, so I was so excited to finally dive into one of Erin A Craig’s books and see what all the fuss was about.

The Thirteenth Child follows the story of Hazel, an unwanted thirteenth child, who her parents see as bad luck. But she has been promised to the God of Death since birth, so every birthday Hazel prays this is the one when the God of Death comes and gets her and takes her away from her horrific family. When he finally arrives, he promptly leaves her in the ‘between’ to learn how to become a gifted healer. Hazel thrives in this position and soon becomes the most sought after healer. With the magical gift to see what exactly a patient needs to be healed, she is legendary. But sometimes Hazel’s power comes at a price. With the ability to see their saving grace, also comes the ability to see when someone is destined to die, and she is the one who must peacefully carry it out. But Hazel starts to question everything: is there really no way to save her patients, or is it just the gods demanding their way.

The premise of this book was fantastic. I was very quickly grabbed into this fantastic storyline. I loved this whole concept of the ‘thirteenth’ child being special and wanted by the gods. I was sucked in right from the start. Considering that this is a very chunky book, I devoured it in just a few days. I couldn’t put it down as I was dying to know what was going to happen with Hazel. I absolutely loved her as a main character. We get to see her grow up from being a small child right through to adulthood and it was such a fantastic journey to be on with her. I really loved her development, from someone who was so thankful to Merrick for coming to take her away from her horrible family so would do anything for him, to starting to question him later on in life. I really enjoyed every moment of that!

My one little gripe about this book was that I wanted it to be more horror-like than it was. I was craving creepy books when I decided to pick this one up, and looking at that cover I was sure this was going to deliver on the creep-factor. While it definitely is gothic and there are some mild spooky scenes in here, the book centred more on Hazel’s development as a healer and her learning her craft. There was very little of her exploring the ‘between’ and I was just left wanting a little bit more of the creepy vibes. So I was a little disappointed that it wasn’t quite as spooky as it seemed.

The Thirteenth Child was gripping and enjoyable. It was my first Erin A Craig book, and it certainly won’t be my last. I am so glad I picked this one up, and I am definitely going to be picking more Erin A Craig’s books up soon. If you’re looking for a slightly gothic fantasy book that will grip you and keep you hooked from start to finish, this one is definitely worth reading. I really enjoyed it!