Flawed but with great beauty.
In 1993 suburban New Jersey, a teen processes a peer’s death and a parent’s near death while deciphering her own identity.
Fifteen-year-old Eleanor wasn’t close to classmate James before he killed himself: James had called her homophobic slurs, pushed her down, and spit on her. When a teacher assigns epistolary journals, Eleanor directs hers to James because her own mother recently attempted suicide. But Eleanor’s immediately sympathetic tone toward her late bully—even wanting to make him a mixtape!—is baffling. When she acquires James’ journal and savors it, it seems a textually convenient way to slowly dole out James’ backstory to readers. Her warmth fits only later, after she discovers James had a secret of his own. On the plus side, the page-turning prose offers a sparkling new friend, a first kiss, and a worth-her-weight-in-gold trans mentor. The text is graceful and nuanced as Eleanor comes out as a lesbian and then keeps wondering who she is because she senses another layer. Some readers will be frustrated that despite a name change to Eler, Eler never articulates that other layer. A trans and/or nonbinary identity for Eler feels both definite and unclaimed, the arc achingly unfinished. Eler is white and Jewish. In a novel where most characters are white—though Eler’s love interest is coded as black—it is unfortunate that when ethnic diversity appears, it is often in a negative context.
Flawed but with great beauty. (Fiction. 15-18)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-941110-68-3
Page Count: 300
Publisher: Three Rooms Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
A very full mixed bag.
In the sequel to Furyborn (2018), Rielle and Eliana struggle across time with their powers and prophesied destinies.
Giving readers only brief recaps, this book throws them right into complicated storylines in this large, lovingly detailed fantasy world filled with multiple countries, two different time periods, and hostile angels. Newly ordained Rielle contends with villainous Corien’s interest in her, the weakening gate that holds the angels at bay, and distrust from those who don’t believe her to be the Sun Queen. A thousand years in the future, Eliana chafes under her unwanted destiny and finds her fear of losing herself to her powers (like the Blood Queen) warring with her need to save those close to her. The rigid alternation between time-separated storylines initially feels overstuffed, undermining tension, but once more characters get point-of-view chapters and parallels start paying off, the pace picks up. The multiethnic cast (human versus angelic is the only divide with weight) includes characters of many sexual orientations, and their romantic storylines include love triangles, casual dalliances, steady couples, and couples willing to invite in a third. While many of the physically intimate scenes are loving, some are rougher, including ones that cross lines of clear consent and introduce a level of violence that many young readers will not be ready for. The ending brings heartbreaking twists to prime readers for the trilogy’s conclusion.
A very full mixed bag. (map, list of elements) (Fantasy. 17-adult)Pub Date: May 21, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-5665-4
Page Count: 608
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 19, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
A sweet, slow-paced novel about a teen learning to love her body.
Greer Walsh wishes she were one person...unfortunately, with her large breasts, she feels like she’s actually three.
High school sophomore and math whiz Greer is self-conscious about her body. Maude and Mavis, as she’s named her large breasts, are causing problems for her. When Greer meets new kid Jackson Oates, she wishes even more that she had a body that she didn’t feel a need to hide underneath XXL T-shirts. While trying to impress Jackson, who has moved to the Chicago suburbs from Cleveland, Greer decides to try out for her school’s volleyball team. When she makes JV, Greer is forced to come to terms with how her body looks and feels in a uniform and in motion as well as with being physically close with her teammates. The story is told in the first person from Greer’s point of view. Inconsistent storytelling as well as Greer’s (somewhat distracting) personified inner butterfly make this realistic novel a slow but overall enjoyable read. The story contains elements of light romance as well as strong female friendships. Greer is white with a Christian mom and Jewish dad; Jackson seems to be white by default, and there is diversity among the secondary characters.
A sweet, slow-paced novel about a teen learning to love her body. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: June 23, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-1524-8
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
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