Kyra is sixteen years old and on the run after she tries to kill the crown princess. She's a highly skilled and very gifted potions master but life in hiding is not her preferred state of affairs. No one seems to understand that Kyra had a reason - a very good reason - for trying to kill the heir apparent, so now she's avoiding the King's Army and trying to regroup and save her kingdom.
Leading the hunt is Kyra's ex-boyfriend, Hal. He is also a skilled potion master, though thankfully not as good as Kyra. When she tried to murder Princess Ariana Hal followed along with the rest of the court to hunt her down and continues trying to keep her from finishing the job.
In escaping from Hal and the King's Army Kyra runs across a magic pig and inept adventurer who help her along the way. Fred and his dog help against the usual dangers: goblins, thieves, and witches - even surviving the threat of being eaten. But they're no help against the attraction Kyra feels for her companion.
She doesn't let her charming, if sometimes bumbling, companion distract from the quest at hand: find and kill the princess. Kyra is relentless and the reader discovers the reason behind her single-mindedness in a flashy conclusion.
Poison is a fantasy of spunk and snark with a strong female lead. Kyra does experience romance in the traditional fairytale mold, though she refuses to allow it to subvert her plans. This is a fun read for young teens and Zinn's only novel as she succumbed to colon cancer prior to the novel's release.
