A page-turner
Kaia is the daughter of professional assassins whose final job went bad and killed them both. Now, however, Kaia has some reason to believe that her mother might be alive, and she sets out with her boyfriend, Oliver, to find out.
Fortunately, Kaia’s parents trained her in some of their methods, and Kaia knows where their safe houses are. After a mysterious man attacks her, asking the whereabouts of her mother, Kaia decides that she must find her. With Oliver, who has learned to survive an abusive foster father, she makes her way to the first safe house, where they find abundant cash, weapons, and a convenient, unremarkable car. However, it seems they’re being tracked—and attacked—as they travel. Narrowly winning fights and continuing to evade their pursuers, they finally and surprisingly meet with Kaia’s uncle, who knows exactly what has happened to Kaia’s mother and where she is. Despite the extreme danger, the trio travels there in an attempt to find her. Of course, it may be that Kaia herself doesn’t know the whole truth. Scott delivers a zippy narrative that downplays romance. The result is a story with all the driving suspense of a spy thriller. She divides the narrative between Kaia and Oliver in alternating first-person chapters, creating interesting, well-rounded characters. Oliver appears to be white, while Kaia is of at least half-Mexican heritage.
A page-turner . (Thriller. 12-18)Pub Date: April 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-3798-1
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 31, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
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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