Interesting, if uneven; will appeal to fans of the first volume.
In this fantasy sequel, a young tattooist learns that contradictory stories can be true.
After dramatically defying Saintstone’s customs, Leora Flint is exiled to live among the blanks of Featherstone—not in punishment but as a spy. The blanks view her community’s obligatory tattooed marks as abominations. To her surprise, they aren’t the aggressors she was taught to hate but peaceful, accepting, desperately poor, and hungry. As she discovers more about her own parents’ pasts, Leora regrets her mission and is faced with a dilemma: Betray the blanks or the people she loves will face the consequences. Leora’s first-person narration remains vacillating, naïve, and guilt-ridden even as others hail her as uniquely special and influential. Additionally, the inconsistent worldbuilding from the first title remains muddled. Still, this entry gains power from the explicit comparisons between the two societies: Both are benevolent utopias on the surface, finding equal beauty in all genders, skin tones, and body shapes, and each slowly reveals dark undercurrents of deception, fear, and anger. Broadway’s (Ink, 2018) lush (if occasionally overwrought) prose is especially effective when narrating the dark foundational myths of Featherstone interspersed throughout the narrative, forming a reverse mirror to the tales of Saintstone. The pacing is taut and suspenseful, right up to a shocking cliffhanger which seems to belong to another genre entirely.
Interesting, if uneven; will appeal to fans of the first volume. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: July 30, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-35599-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
A delicious winter romance that shimmers with classic fairy-tale magic.
An 18-year-old’s encounter with the pale, mysterious, golden-eyed Starmaker transforms her from hamlet girl to magical apprentice.
Aurora Finch discovers she possesses the rare ability to channel sunlight—magic essential to the survival of snow-covered Reverie, her mountain village, “with peaks so high the Sun [cannot] rise above them.” Now she faces a harsh choice: Leave everything behind to train at the Starmaker’s enchanted castle or die as the untapped magic destroys her from within. Griffin excels at worldbuilding; the story is filled with elements and characters that feel both whimsical and real, from Tilly, a living snow angel who’s searching for herself, to Constance, an immortal rabbit. As the antagonism between Aurora and the cold, centuries-old Starmaker melts, their love story, which forms the heart of this tale, crackles with tension. Aurora emerges as a compelling hero—stubborn and brave—who refuses to be diminished by the overwhelming responsibilities thrust upon her. The romantic storyline proves both strong and emotionally involving as the author brings fresh twists to familiar elements, exploring the power of stories and how they shape our understanding of the world. White-presenting Aurora faces a devastating truth that creates urgency and heightens the emotional stakes that drive the story to its conclusion. This satisfying, sparkling fantasy will capture hearts with its well-developed setting and captivating love story.
A delicious winter romance that shimmers with classic fairy-tale magic. (author’s note) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 17, 2026
ISBN: 9781728256184
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
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
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