A good bet for readers mostly interested in the romance.
Fasten your seatbelts, lower your expectations, then sit back and enjoy the modest pleasures of this mostly smooth sequel.
Kate has graduated to deity status and married Henry (Hades, Titan-born Greek deity of the Underworld, reconfigured as a category-romance hero). She looks forward to her coronation as Queen of the Underworld, but Calliope (Hera) has other plans. She awakens her father, head Titan Cronus, enlisting his aid in a scheme to take down her victorious rival and promising his release from captivity in return. For that, she’ll need help from her fellow deities, and there’ll be collateral damage—destroying the Olympians and wiping out humanity. This may strike readers as overkill (and a shameless Rick Riordan retread), but it makes a nifty plot complication. Kate chafes at being left behind when the top Olympians leave to prevent catastrophe. She feels responsible, and, worse, Henry is in danger. Joined by Ava (Aphrodite) and James (Hermes), her trek to rescue Henry is the tale’s main event. Henry remains the series’ weakest link—less intriguingly mysterious than exasperatingly vague. Kate spends much of the text pondering and misinterpreting his intentions, but one can hardly blame her; this is a marriage badly in need of intervention from Deborah Tannen (You Just Don't Understand, 1990, etc.).
A good bet for readers mostly interested in the romance. (Fantasy. 12 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-373-21045-9
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Review Posted Online: Feb. 14, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2012
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
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and...
A deliciously creepy page-turning gem from first-time writer and illustrator Brosgol finds brooding teenager Anya trying to escape the past—both her own and the ghost haunting her.
Anya feels out of place at her preppy private school; embarrassed by her Russian heritage, she has worked hard to lose her accent and to look more like everyone else. After a particularly frustrating morning at the bus stop, Anya storms off, only to accidentally fall down a well. Down in the dark hole, she meets Emily, a ghost who claims to be a murder victim trapped down in the dank abyss for 90 years. With Emily’s help, Anya manages to escape, though once free, she learns that Emily has traveled out with her. At first, Emily seems like the perfect friend; however, once her motives become clear, Anya learns that “perfect” may only be an illusion. A moodily atmospheric spectrum of grays washes over the clean, tidy panels, setting a distinct stage before the first words appear. Brosgol’s tight storytelling invokes the chilling feeling of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (2002), though for a decidedly older set.
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and outward appearance. (Graphic supernatural fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: June 7, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59643-552-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
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