Ideal for reluctant readers and gentler-minded fans of paranormal fiction.
This uneven anthology proves less edgy than billed, but fans of paranormal romance will find much to like and several promising new authors to follow.
Among the standouts is Kitty Keswick’s “Death Becomes Her,” a Cinderella story featuring a haunted dress and satisfying surprise ending. In “The Secret Box,” Jill Williamson brings a fascinating era to life in her tale of a 13th-century crusader king obsessed with an Egyptian box and the secret it contains. Candace Haven’s “The Cold One” introduces Norse paganism in a Finnish setting as a girl struggles with her non-negotiable appointment as guardian of Viking treasure. Equally strong on atmosphere is Carmen Tudor’s “The Oast House,” where an unhappy teen finds solace in befriending the girl he discovers living in a derelict brewery. Loneliness also drives the unnamed heroine of Maria V. Snyder’s “New Girl” to accept overtures of friendship from an unsnubbable boy who approaches her in the school library. “To Hel and Back,” by Shannon Delany, author of the 13 to Life series, is a far-future, cyborg-human love story; though awkwardly executed and lacking the powerhouse originality of a writer like Margo Lanagan, it’s vivid and original. Proceeds from book sales benefit the nonprofit youth literacy organization 826 National.
Ideal for reluctant readers and gentler-minded fans of paranormal fiction. (Paranormal/short stories. 12 & up)Pub Date: June 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-61603-020-9
Page Count: 332
Publisher: Leap Books
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2012
Ghanaian teenager Gloria Bampo has hit a rough patch. She failed most of her school exams, her long-unemployed father has lost himself to religion and her mother is ravaged by a mysterious sickness. Her one consolation, her older sister Effie, has discovered boys and all but disappeared. Gloria is offered a job in a distant city with Christine, a doctor who needs househelp. Her father is quick to assent, with one condition: In lieu of payment, Christine must take responsibility for Gloria's future and adopt her as a sister. Gloria adjusts easily, studies hard and explores her newfound freedom. But when the temptations of her new life—brand-name clothes and handsome doctors—prove hard to resist, a misunderstanding cuts a rift between Gloria and Christine. Each must confront class stereotypes and re-examine the meaning of family. Badoe's sharp and engaging prose unfolds the story with spryness, deftly navigating readers through heady social issues. But she wastes readers' goodwill at the end with a conclusion both haphazard and overly moralistic, jarringly out of place in this otherwise thoughtful and well-excuted novel. (Ghanaian glossary) (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-88899-996-2
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
When 14-year-old Ty witnesses a brutal murder involving neighborhood thugs, he and his mom are put into a witness-protection program in a small town far away from their East London home. Now named Joe, Ty enters a new school a year behind and finds himself haunted by his past and torn between two girls: Ellie, a physically disabled teen who trains able-bodied runners, and her sister, Ashley. Despite lots of Briticisms and the occasional longwinded spells of narration, David pens a mostly fast-moving page-turner. Her characterizations feel mostly fully fleshed, and their dialogue rings true. The staunchly un-Americanized text results in some odd, culturally specific references that could confuse some readers unfamiliar with the milieu: Kissing Ashley makes Ty's body sizzle like sausages in a pan, for instance. The contemplative pages within the blood-spattered cover may disappoint readers more drawn to gore than to the self-reflection the experience renders in Ty. However, if teens can move past these speed bumps, they’ll find a complex, engaging read about a boy starting a new life by escaping his past. (Thriller. 12 & up)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-84580-131-9
Page Count: 358
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Review Posted Online: July 29, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2010
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