A delicious and magical intrigue too tempting not to devour.
In the face of war and family destruction, a young strega fights to claim her power.
For olive-skinned Teo di Sangro, daughter of a high lord of Vinalia, “family is fate.” As a girl, she stands no chance at inheriting her father’s title, but she protects her family from the shadows in a way neither of her brothers can. No one knows about Teo’s magic, which she unleashes on anyone who dares to challenge di Sangro power. Teo longs for her father’s acknowledgment, but she also yearns to control her secret abilities. When a pale-skinned, black-haired, genderfluid shape-shifter named Cielo appears in the mountains on the same day as an assassination attempt on Teo’s father, she gets swept up in a dangerous plot of murder and politics. Capetta (Echo After Echo, 2017, etc.) captures readers’ attention with alluring first-person prose and a protagonist who does not shy away from ruthlessness to achieve her goals. As Teo struggles with her place in her family and society, she also explores her sexuality and gender identity. Her interaction with Cielo, who contains a shifting balance of both boy and girl, helps her realize that she too may not always “fit inside the boundaries of the word girl.” Through shape-shifting and in her romance with Cielo, Teo discovers the meaning of wholeness and ownership over her body.
A delicious and magical intrigue too tempting not to devour. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 30, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-451-47844-3
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Somberly beautiful.
A girl goes in search of her missing sister and discovers a strange hidden world of dreams.
Corin, who’s 18 and dark-skinned, strives to protect her 12-year-old sister, Elly. But life as a thief is full of struggle, poverty, and loss, even without Corin’s avoidance of other relationships. Elly clings to the promise of fairy tales, like the one that says a princess lies sleeping in an underground castle after pricking her finger on a spindle. After the sisters fight and Elly runs off, Corin searches for her in Gyldan’s old network of tunnels—and finds the tale is true: Cursed Princess Amelia, golden-haired, with eyes like “sea glass” and porcelain skin, lies asleep, surrounded by flowers. Corin enters the princess’ dreamworld—the place “where your subconscious desires come to life.” She meets Briar Rose, Amelia’s alter ego, who experienced her share of sadness and wanted to fall asleep. Also in the dreamworld is green-skinned Malicine, the nonbinary demon who, despite having placed the curse of eternal slumber on Amelia, is mostly friendly. All three are running from things they can’t face, though the dreamworld may not give them a choice. Pham’s debut, a Sapphic reimagining of “Sleeping Beauty,” explores mental health and asks a lot of readers as it seesaws between emotional confrontations, time jumps, and scenes where one character inhabits the memories of another, all of which demand intense engagement. Still, the ending is earned as well as positive.
Somberly beautiful. (content note) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2026
ISBN: 9798217113026
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Kokila
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
SEEN & HEARD
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
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