A fine fantasy featuring giant-sized themes of empowerment and self-acceptance.
In the first entry of a YA fantasy series, outcast youth on a post-apocalyptic Earth uncover a scheme by shape-shifting cyborgs to foment war.
An apocalyptic conflict against rebellious robots and AIs resulted in “The Long Night,” during which human civilization made a grueling recovery from ruin and radiation. Now, after 374 years, four humanoid species survive in the former North America, which enforces Dune-like bans on computers and information technology. One faction is made up of unaltered humans; another, called Scavengers, are survivors who use recovered tech to keep their damaged bodies alive. They have an uneasy peace with elflike tree-dwellers called Dryads and with giant warriors who emerged from underground shelters much larger and stronger than most other humans. Brianna MineShaker is an adolescent girl giant who’s too independent-minded for her community’s tradition-bound social order. She’s forced to attend HarmonySchool, a last-chance remedial boarding school for problem children from all four groups. Although she disdains friendship, she connects with two kindred nonconformists: Rayel Juniperus, a colorful Dryad girl; and Davyd ShieldBreaker, a pacifist human boy. Cheverton, after writing multiple fantasy novels derived from Minecraft video gaming, such as Invasion of the Overworld (2014), forges a new path with this Giants of StoneHold series launch. Readers dreading a Hogwarts pastiche need not fear; almost instantly, the trio of characters are on the run due to a Scavenger conspiracy to infiltrate the school and trigger destructive war between the four groups. It’s not the first time this has happened according to chapter prologues from 150 years earlier that form a secondary running narrative; cleverly, there’s a flip-book illustration on each odd-numbered page that tells a third little tale. The story never stops moving, even if some moments on the young giant’s rocky path to self-realization seem a bit familiar. The lessons about being kind to animals also feel heavy-handed. Still, this imagined world is a robust one, and the nimble narrative will attract a YA audience craving action and role models.
A fine fantasy featuring giant-sized themes of empowerment and self-acceptance.Pub Date: Sept. 25, 2020
ISBN: 979-8-69-006196-8
Page Count: 285
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Dec. 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Raw, delicate, and deeply caring.
When Death-Cast doesn’t call, fate intertwines the lives of two boys, both haunted by their pasts and with futures they can’t escape.
In this third installment of the series that opened with 2017’s They Both Die at the End, Paz Dario waits every night for Death-Cast to call—as it should have for his father nearly 10 years ago, when Paz shot him to save his mother’s life. But the call never comes. Death-Cast killed Paz’s dreams of an acting career: No one will hire him now because the world sees him as a villain. When Paz tries (not for the first time) to put an end to his suffering, an unexpected encounter with Alano Rosa, the heir of Death-Cast, stops him. Both in a place of desperation, Alano and Paz sign a contract to live for Begin Days instead of waiting for their End Days. As suspenseful and emotionally wrenching as the previous titles in the series, this new installment explores heavy themes of abuse, mental health, self-harm, and suicide. Paz grapples with a recent diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Silvera surrounds Alano and Paz with a web of complex relationships. Although the protagonists fall fast for one another and form a deep connection over Alano’s desire to support Paz, Silvera emphasizes the importance of professional help. Both Alano and Paz have Puerto Rican heritage. The cliffhanger ending promises more to come.
Raw, delicate, and deeply caring. (content warning, resources) (Speculative fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780063240858
Page Count: 720
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
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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