Deeply romantic and utterly magical.
An aspiring alchemist and a talented sharpshooter team up to hunt an ancient beast.
When the hala appears each autumn, New Albion’s Halfmoon Hunt soon follows. Teams consisting of a marksman and an alchemist hunt the creature in pursuit of fame and fortune. Though the Katharist church condemns the hala as a demon, 17-year-old Margaret Welty has been taught by her Yu’adir father that it is a sacred creation of God. Legend even has it that the hala’s alchemized carcass could be forged into the philosopher’s stone. If Maggie wins the hunt and kills the hala, her alchemist mother, gone for months, may finally return home to stay. Weston Winters, son of Banvish-Sumic immigrants, has been fired from every apprenticeship he’s charmed his way into. Being taken on as Evelyn Welty’s student is his best chance at becoming an alchemist, but when he arrives at Welty Manor, Maggie immediately dislikes him. However, after they ultimately come to understand each other’s personal motives, they rely on one another to achieve their dreams. This atmospheric, emotionally driven story focuses on the slow-burn romance between two outcasts who yearn to belong and who face discrimination for their cultural and religious backgrounds. Characters are cued as White, and New Albion is reminiscent of early-20th-century America: the Banvish-Sumic, Katharist, and Yu’adir people read as fantasy-world corollaries of Irish Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish immigrants, respectively.
Deeply romantic and utterly magical. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: March 8, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-62365-2
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2022
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
A worthy second-chance romance.
In this follow-up to 2021’s Better Than the Movies, a 20-year-old college freshman gets a second chance at his dreams.
After the death of his father and his mother’s subsequent physical and emotional disappearance, Wes Bennett left behind all of his plans and the girl he made them with to go home and take care of Sarah, his younger sister. But now, Sarah has graduated, his mom is back on her feet, and by some miracle, Wes has an offer to pitch for UCLA’s baseball team. Liz Buxbaum, the girl he’s always loved, works for the university’s athletic department, taking photos and video of the team for social media, which means that maybe he can have a second chance at love, too. But since Wes left, Liz has made every effort to protect herself from ever feeling that broken again; there’s no room for love, because she doesn’t believe in it anymore. Or she doesn’t want to. This second-chance sports romance includes fake dates, quippy and quirky best friends, real heartache, and the sweet ache of first love. The clever dialogue keeps readers from drowning in the main characters’ emotional push-and-pull. Reading the first novel isn’t necessary for appreciating this one, although knowing the full history between Wes and Liz will only add to the ache and longing readers feel from and for them. Main characters are cued white.
A worthy second-chance romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781665947138
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
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