A visually rich but tortuous conclusion meant for hard-core fans of the goth-chic series.
Alyssa Gardner prepares to wage war on mad Queen Red, rescue her two loves and restore weirdness to Wonderland in this third and final book.
With her mom trapped in a diseased Wonderland and her loves—human Jeb and netherling Morpheus—sucked into the prison-world AnyElsewhere with her enemy, Queen Red, Alyssa simultaneously tries to resolve her relationship woes and save the world. After restoring her father’s memories and meeting his gatekeeping brothers, Alyssa and her father dive into the mutant-filled, landscape-shifting AnyElsewhere. But rescue proves difficult as artistic, tattooed and pierced, abuse survivor Jeb proves addicted to his new powers of creation and reluctant to hurt or be hurt by Alyssa again. Erratically English and sinisterly seductive Morpheus further complicates matters with his continual striving to wed Alyssa and rule Wonderland. Alyssa suffers literal heartbreak over Jeb and Morpheus and goes power mad while fighting Red but does so in trademark sartorial splendor. Alyssa’s observation, “how convoluted the rules are. Nothing in Wonderland is simple,” also applies to the novel, which is rife with unnecessary and nonsensical plot twists, darker than its predecessors—more gory than Gorey—and filled with unsettling sadism and borderline erotica.
A visually rich but tortuous conclusion meant for hard-core fans of the goth-chic series. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4197-1229-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2014
Combines the best parts of the earlier books with confidence and creativity, sustaining strong momentum throughout.
Friendships, romance, and long-awaited answers combine for a triumphant trilogy closer.
A couple of dramatic prologues and some early exposition bring readers up to speed about the mysteries and players of Hemlock Falls. Winnie Wednesday, Erica Thursday, and Jay Friday have formed a clue-gathering trio collectively known as the WTF triangle. The three agree to work together to uncover the truth behind mysteries involving Winnie’s missing father and Erica’s late sister. Winnie’s star has risen in this entry: Characters who teased her during the events of the first book are now cheerfully welcoming toward her, and her romance with werewolf Jay continues to heat up. Her ongoing guilt and trauma over deaths from prior books ground the narrative, while sprinkled-in pop-culture references and a recurring Emily Dickinson motif showcase her nerdy personality. Changes in the format—such as scriptlike dialogue sequences and daily schedules for the Nightmare Masquerade—break up the narration in creative ways. The eventual reveal of a looming threat that’s targeting everyone Winnie knows starts the countdown of a ticking clock within the story. Meanwhile, a slew of fantasy monsters ensure high enough stakes, suspense, and action to bring the story to a heart-racing and satisfying conclusion. Winnie and Jay present white, and Erica is cued Latine.
Combines the best parts of the earlier books with confidence and creativity, sustaining strong momentum throughout. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 19, 2024
ISBN: 9781250339485
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Tor Teen
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
Cracking page-turner with a multiethnic band of misfits with differing sexual orientations who satisfyingly, believably jell...
Adolescent criminals seek the haul of a lifetime in a fantasyland at the beginning of its industrial age.
The dangerous city of Ketterdam is governed by the Merchant Council, but in reality, large sectors of the city are given over to gangs who run the gambling dens and brothels. The underworld's rising star is 17-year-old Kaz Brekker, known as Dirtyhands for his brutal amorality. Kaz walks with chronic pain from an old injury, but that doesn't stop him from utterly destroying any rivals. When a councilman offers him an unimaginable reward to rescue a kidnapped foreign chemist—30 million kruge!—Kaz knows just the team he needs to assemble. There's Inej, an itinerant acrobat captured by slavers and sold to a brothel, now a spy for Kaz; the Grisha Nina, with the magical ability to calm and heal; Matthias the zealot, hunter of Grishas and caught in a hopeless spiral of love and vengeance with Nina; Wylan, the privileged boy with an engineer's skills; and Jesper, a sharpshooter who keeps flirting with Wylan. Bardugo broadens the universe she created in the Grisha Trilogy, sending her protagonists around countries that resemble post-Renaissance northern Europe, where technology develops in concert with the magic that's both coveted and despised. It’s a highly successful venture, leaving enough open questions to cause readers to eagerly await Volume 2.
Cracking page-turner with a multiethnic band of misfits with differing sexual orientations who satisfyingly, believably jell into a family . (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-62779-212-7
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
BOOK TO SCREEN
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