An often entertaining coming-of-age romance with a supernatural twist.
Being a teenager is tough, but being one who can make bad things happen with a wish is even tougher in Gordon’s paranormal YA novel.
Eighteen-year-old high school senior Regan Braaten is not what she appears. Though her life features everyday teen struggles, she also possesses the ability to control other people’s minds and actions with a wish. The discovery of this power came at a cost, specifically, the death of her father in an accident, for which Regan feels guilty. Regan’s mother moves the family from Anchorage, Alaska, to Wyoming, where the teen helps her grandparents on their ranch, gets a job at a local restaurant, and navigates life as a new girl in town with a big secret. She soon gets involved with two boys: Jude, a mysterious, artistic type with a “deep, smoky voice” and dark eyes, and Layne, the star of the high school football team and boyfriend of ruthless queen bee Gabby; as a member of a powerful local family, Gabby could make life very difficult for Regan. Later, to avenge those that Gabby has hurt, Regan puts her newfound skills to the test. Gordon’s book employs a very familiar romance trope in which an outcast girl must choose between two vastly different boys who are enthralled by her, and a significant portion of the plot revolves around this dilemma; as a result, deeper topics, such as guilt and loss, feel relatively glossed over. However, the plot gains more nuance when Regan realizes that she might not be the only one with extraordinary abilities. The novel’s main strength is its pacing; the dialogue, exposition, and action all move quickly, and readers will be kept guessing as to what Regan will do next, particularly in her romantic life: Will she choose Layne, whose normalcy encourages her to keep her powers in check, or Jude, who accepts her for who she really is? Meanwhile, mysterious dark-suited men seem to be following her, which adds intrigue.
An often entertaining coming-of-age romance with a supernatural twist.Pub Date: July 5, 2023
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 338
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.
Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868138
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations.
Magic, mystery, and love intertwine and invite in this newest take on the “enchanted circus” trope.
Sisters raised by their abusive father, a governor of a colonial backwater in a world vaguely reminiscent of the late 18th century, Scarlett and Donatella each long for something more. Scarlett, olive-skinned, dark of hair and attitude, longs for Caraval, the fabled, magical circus helmed by the possibly evil Master Legend Santos, while blonde, sunny Tella finds comfort in drink and the embraces of various men. A slightly awkward start, with inconsistencies of attitude and setting, rapidly smooths out when they, along with handsome “golden-brown” sailor Julian, flee to Caraval on the eve of Scarlett’s arranged marriage. Tella disappears, and Scarlett must navigate a nighttime world of magic to find her. Caraval delights the senses: beautiful and scary, described in luscious prose, this is a show readers will wish they could enter. Dresses can be purchased for secrets or days of life; clocks can become doors; bridges move: this is an inventive and original circus, laced with an edge of horror. A double love story, one sensual romance and the other sisterly loyalty, anchors the plot, but the real star here is Caraval and its secrets.
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-09525-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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