A fitting farewell with the right amounts of bittersweet and hopeful.
Ulla battles magically induced amnesia to unravel a dangerous, world-changing scheme.
The closing volume of the Omte Origins trilogy is a bit of a farewell tour for loyal readers, as the characters travel to visit troll kingdoms, their rulers (and other familiar beloved characters), and the trolls’ various fantastical hidden cities (with a helpful, extensive glossary to track all the spinning pieces). In the opening, Ulla is on an airplane back to Minnesota, confused and disoriented, with no recollections of the past month, and needing to be told about the trade that enabled the Trylle and the Vittra to secure her and her friends’ release from the Älvolk. Struggling against the Älvolk magic’s blocking of her memories, Ulla unlocks various flashbacks to help her piece together their endgame. To cope with her parental revelations, she seeks out her sisters and finds even more surprises as endless blood tests reveal an ever more complicated web of parentage and other familial relationships. Ulla and Pan, with shared memory loss, initially dance around their romance, though the storyline climaxes in some steamy scenes. By the time all the revelations and twists land and the full stakes are realized, the world is in danger. A large, cinematic set piece of a final battle pulls together all corners of the troll world with fast, point-of-view–jumping storylines and hard losses.
A fitting farewell with the right amounts of bittersweet and hopeful. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-20430-1
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
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 compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters.
When star hockey player Alec Barczewski’s estranged childhood friend, Dani Collins, moves to town, they end up in a mutually beneficial fake-dating relationship that reignites old feelings.
Following her parents’ divorce, Dani and her mom move in with Dani’s hockey legend grandfather in Southview, Minnesota, where she spent a month every summer as a child and where her friendship with Alec grew. Between visits, the two were pen pals, but they eventually fell out of touch. Despite some tensions over their loss of friendship, the high school seniors reconnect. Desperate to get off Harvard’s waitlist, Dani needs another extracurricular activity, while Alec—whose reputation took a hit when a photo of him holding a bong appeared on social media—is eager to improve his tarnished image for NHL scouts. The pair strike a deal: They’ll fake date, making Alec look like a stable guy whose academically gifted girlfriend is related to hockey royalty, and in exchange, he’ll get Dani a team manager position that will catch the eye of Harvard’s admissions officers. Eventually, complicated feelings about their past, stressful family relationships, and their brewing romance boil over. Romance fans will love the deliciously tension-filled scenes between Alec and Dani, who are believable friends with heavy demands weighing on them. They feel like real teenagers, and readers will enjoy rooting for them as the well-paced story unfolds. Main characters present white.
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781665921268
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
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