Bright, brave characters star in this exhilarating tale of magic and mystical creatures.
An orphan witchling struggles with school bullies and the likelihood that the mother she’s never known betrayed her coven in the launch of Adams’ (The Santa Thief, 2017, etc.) YA fantasy series.
Like all 9-year-olds in the realm of Orkney, Abigail begins her training in witchery at Tarkana Witch Academy. Friends are hard to come by, especially as Endera, daughter of powerful High Witch Melistra, targets Abigail for ridicule. But Abigail fortunately befriends Hugo Suppermill, a scientist-in-training at the Balfin School for Boys. The two are together—outside of their respective schools—when Abigail first uses witchfire. Though she no longer needs to worry that she’s a magicless “glitch-witch,” Abigail is perplexed by her blue witchfire—everyone else’s is emerald-green. She and Hugo soon learn that this unique color could mean she’s the daughter of Lissandra, a Tarkana witch and reputed coven traitor. With Endera using spells (courtesy of Melistra’s spellbook) against Abigail, it’s hard enough for Abigail to avoid expulsion from the academy. But in the swamps outside of Tarkana Fortress, Abigail will face menacing creatures, such as the giant, wolflike viken, while resisting a new, insistent voice in her head that’s trying to turn her toward dark magic. Adams’ entertaining novel is a prequel to her previous series, also set in Orkney. As in her earlier novels, this series’ first installment is rich in Norse mythology, including references to Thor and Asgard. But it’s the main characters that truly boost the narrative. Abigail and Hugo are particularly strong, two devoted pals who seemingly take turns saving one another. The author’s chiseled prose and speedy pace are complemented by Stroh’s (The Raven God, 2017) sharp illustrations, which create memorable images, most notably pigtailed Abigail in a defiant stance. While subplots are resolved, series arcs are likewise established; Abigail, for example, may be part of a dark prophecy with the threat of war—another tie to Adams’ preceding series.
Bright, brave characters star in this exhilarating tale of magic and mystical creatures.Pub Date: Oct. 23, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-943006-77-9
Page Count: 216
Publisher: SparkPress
Review Posted Online: Sept. 20, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Paulsen recalls personal experiences that he incorporated into Hatchet (1987) and its three sequels, from savage attacks by moose and mosquitoes to watching helplessly as a heart-attack victim dies. As usual, his real adventures are every bit as vivid and hair-raising as those in his fiction, and he relates them with relish—discoursing on “The Fine Art of Wilderness Nutrition,” for instance: “Something that you would never consider eating, something completely repulsive and ugly and disgusting, something so gross it would make you vomit just looking at it, becomes absolutely delicious if you’re starving.” Specific examples follow, to prove that he knows whereof he writes. The author adds incidents from his Iditarod races, describes how he made, then learned to hunt with, bow and arrow, then closes with methods of cooking outdoors sans pots or pans. It’s a patchwork, but an entertaining one, and as likely to win him new fans as to answer questions from his old ones. (Autobiography. 10-13)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-385-32650-5
Page Count: 150
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2000
A familiar but heartfelt romance for easygoing readers.
In O’Gorman’s YA debut, two best friends try to fool people into thinking that they’re in love—and then discover a new facet of their relationship.
Sally Spitz is a frizzy-haired 17-year-old girl with a charming zeal for three things: Harry Potter (she’s a Gryffindor), Star Wars, and getting into Duke University. During her senior year of high school, she goes on a slew of miserable dates, set up by her mother and her own second-best–friend–turned-matchmaker, Lillian Hooker. Sally refuses to admit to anyone that she’s actually head over Converses in love with her longtime best friend, a boy named Baldwin Eugene Charles Kent, aka “Becks.” After a particularly awkward date, Sally devises a plan to end Lillian’s matchmaking attempts; specifically, she plans to hire someone to act as her fake boyfriend, or “F.B.F.” But before Sally can put her plan into action, a rumor circulates that Sally and Becks are already dating. Becks agrees to act as Sally’s F.B.F. in exchange for a box of Goobers and Sally’s doing his calculus homework for a month. Later, as they hold hands in the hall and “practice” make-out sessions in Becks’ bedroom, their friendship heads into unfamiliar territory. Over the course of this novel, O’Gorman presents an inviting and enjoyable account of lifelong friendship transforming into young love. Though the author’s reliance on familiar tropes may be comforting to a casual reader, it may frustrate those who may be looking for a more substantial and less predictable plot. A number of ancillary characters lack very much complexity, and the story, overall, would have benefited from an added twist or two. Even so, however, this remains a largely engaging and often endearing debut.
A familiar but heartfelt romance for easygoing readers.Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-64063-759-7
Page Count: 340
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Review Posted Online: Jan. 7, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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