This bloodcurdling anthology soars.
Fifteen tales full of the macabre and creatures that roam at twilight offer plenty of chills and thrills in this anthology inspired by Latin American folklore and legends.
“Be warned, this story is both a lesson and a curse. Most stories are.” So begins Chantel Acevedo’s strong opener, “The Nightingale and the Lark,” a dreamy tale of star-crossed lovers from families who are at odds over how best to handle monsters in Cuba. Love and loss intertwine across several stories, often superbly dissected through the lenses of gender, sexuality, and, crucially, gender-based violence. In Gabriela Martins’ stellar “Bloodstained Hands Like Yours,” 18-year-old Olivia survives on the streets of Brazil, where the rotten Corpo-seco targets and kills other unhoused people. To save the girl she loves, Olivia must brave her fears and traumas. In Racquel Marie’s “La Patasola,” a queer girl’s coming out turns deadly when her boyfriend’s aggression leads to the appearance of La Patasola, a blood-soaked spirit from Colombia. Colorism and racism thread through numerous tales. The horrors of modern U.S.–led capitalism and the consequences of environmental destruction—see Julia Alvarez’s poignant “Leave No Tracks,” featuring a more-than-human family of ciguapas in the Dominican Republic—round out a few more emergent themes. Dramatic black-and-white art enhances the suspense. The combination of recognizable names from young adult literature and superlative stories on a range of themes makes this collection a winner.
This bloodcurdling anthology soars. (Horror anthology. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-64375-183-2
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Algonquin
Review Posted Online: July 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022
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
Perhaps a more genuinely enlightened protagonist would have made this debut more engaging
Audrey Rose Wadsworth, 17, would rather perform autopsies in her uncle’s dark laboratory than find a suitable husband, as is the socially acceptable rite of passage for a young, white British lady in the late 1800s.
The story immediately brings Audrey into a fractious pairing with her uncle’s young assistant, Thomas Cresswell. The two engage in predictable rounds of “I’m smarter than you are” banter, while Audrey’s older brother, Nathaniel, taunts her for being a girl out of her place. Horrific murders of prostitutes whose identities point to associations with the Wadsworth estate prompt Audrey to start her own investigation, with Thomas as her sidekick. Audrey’s narration is both ponderous and polemical, as she sees her pursuit of her goals and this investigation as part of a crusade for women. She declares that the slain aren’t merely prostitutes but “daughters and wives and mothers,” but she’s also made it a point to deny any alignment with the profiled victims: “I am not going as a prostitute. I am simply blending in.” Audrey also expresses a narrow view of her desired gender role, asserting that “I was determined to be both pretty and fierce,” as if to say that physical beauty and liking “girly” things are integral to feminism. The graphic descriptions of mutilated women don’t do much to speed the pace.
Perhaps a more genuinely enlightened protagonist would have made this debut more engaging . (Historical thriller. 15-18)Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-316-27349-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Jimmy Patterson/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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