Dazzling.
A queer reimagining of “Snow-White and Rose-Red.”
Dark-skinned Ivory and pale-skinned Rosie (each named for her hair color) are 17-year-old twin daughters of the Circus Rose’s ringmistress. When the circus returns to their birthplace, Port’s End, Rosie’s and Ivory’s growth unfolds against a volatile backdrop that echoes contemporary politics: Recent regime and policy shifts result in aggressive behavior by the Brethren, whose church formerly occupied a position of political power. After tragedy strikes the circus, Ivory must shoulder ringmistress duties even as she attempts to discover who—or what—is behind the devastation. The present-tense, first-person narrative alternates between Rosie’s dreamy verse and Ivory’s looping prose as the sisters navigate new romances, professional challenges, and oppressive religious fanaticism on tour. Rosie is attracted to women but prefers the mysterious Bear above all while Ivory’s understanding of her own sexuality expands when she meets Tam, a black-haired, olive-skinned Fey magician who is “neither male nor female, like all Fey.” Tam’s pronouns, fe/fer/fers, are seamlessly integrated into the text. The twins have different fathers: Ivory’s is brown skinned while Rosie’s father is pale. The well-constructed fantasy world evokes elements of northern Europe and the United States during the Industrial Revolution, placing fluid Fey society and magic in an uneasy truce with established human monarchies and technologies. This creative exploration of chosen family, self-knowledge, love, and the tension between opposites is both timely and timeless.
Dazzling. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: June 16, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-328-63950-9
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: March 10, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
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