Fans of action-packed dystopias will enjoy Tavin's attempts not to lose himself in the ferocity of his power, and they will...
An 18-year-old boy doesn't want the phenomenal cosmic power that's turning him into an out-of-control killing machine in this trilogy's middle volume.
Since his capture at the conclusion of Wordless (2014), Tavin has been a prisoner—albeit one kept in luxury—of the Godspeakers. Forced to bear the awesome responsibility of the Word of Death, Tavin wants only to avoid hurting people with the murderous impulses boiling under his skin. His sadistic and manipulative keepers, however, intent on molding him into a killer, force him to gruesomely, though not gratuitously, torture and murder an endless parade of fuzzy animals. Tavin must escape the Godspeakers and their sinister plot to conquer the world, but he and the other adolescent Words are under constant surveillance. Even if he escapes and finds Khaya, the beautiful Word of Life whose escape precipitated Tavin into this life of terrible luxury, can the Word of Death ever be loved by his polar opposite? With the help of the other Words (all thinly characterized if quite likable), Tavin must escape or become the world's most dangerous weapon. Worldbuilding shows its seams: a technologically advanced society relies on the whims of children; generations of cross-national breeding seems always to produce Words who exhibit exactly the most superficial stereotypes of one parent's ethnicity.
Fans of action-packed dystopias will enjoy Tavin's attempts not to lose himself in the ferocity of his power, and they will stay tuned for Volume 3 and its likely romantic angst . (Science fiction. 14-17)Pub Date: Aug. 8, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7387-4222-9
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Flux
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An emotionally engaging closer that fumbles in its final moments.
Lara Jean prepares for college and a wedding.
Korean-American Lara Jean is finally settled into a nice, complication-free relationship with her white boyfriend, Peter. But things don’t stay simple for long. When college acceptance letters roll in, Peter and Lara Jean discover they’re heading in different directions. As the two discuss the long-distance thing, Lara Jean’s widower father is making a major commitment: marrying the neighbor lady he’s been dating. The whirlwind of a wedding, college visits, prom, and the last few months of senior year provides an excellent backdrop for this final book about Lara Jean. The characters ping from event to event with emotions always at the forefront. Han further develops her cast, pushing them to new maturity and leaving few stones unturned. There’s only one problem here, and it’s what’s always held this series back from true greatness: Peter. Despite Han’s best efforts to flesh out Peter with abandonment issues and a crummy dad, he remains little more than a handsome jock. Frankly, Lara Jean and Peter may have cute teen chemistry, but Han's nuanced characterizations have often helped to subvert typical teen love-story tropes. This knowing subversion is frustratingly absent from the novel's denouement.
An emotionally engaging closer that fumbles in its final moments. (Romance. 14-17)Pub Date: May 2, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-3048-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
Several yards short of a touchdown.
A transgender boy starting over at a new school falls hard for a popular cheerleader with a reputation to protect in this debut.
On the first day of senior year, transgender boy Pony locks eyes with cisgender cheerleader Georgia. They both have pasts they want to leave behind. No one at Hillcrest High knows that Pony is transgender, and he intends to keep it that way. Georgia’s last boyfriend shook her trust in boys, and now she’s determined to forget him. As mutual attraction draws them together, Pony and Georgia must decide what they are willing to risk for a relationship. Pony’s best friend, Max, who is also transgender, disapproves of Pony’s choice to live stealth; this disagreement leads to serious conflict in their relationship. Meanwhile, Georgia and Pony behave as if Pony’s trans identity was a secret he was lying to her about rather than private information for him to share of his own volition. The characters only arrive at a hopeful resolution after Pony pays high physical and emotional prices. McSmith places repeated emphasis on the born-in-the-wrong-body narrative when the characters discuss trans identities. Whiteness is situated as the norm, and all main characters are white.
Several yards short of a touchdown. (Fiction. 14-17)Pub Date: May 26, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-294317-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
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