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LAST SUNRISE IN ETERNA

A magical and romantic tale of identity.

An elf-hating goth girl is blackmailed into taking part in a magic exchange on the elves’ private island of Eterna, off the eastern coast of Puerto Rico.

Seventeen-year-old Puerto Rican Sevim Burgos steals elf corpses and sells them to a university professor for his studies—partly for the money her family needs, partly to get back at the elves that caused her father’s death. When Aro Herrera, the youngest elven prince, catches Sevim red-handed, he kidnaps Sevim’s mother in order to blackmail her into taking part in the Exchange. The annual weeklong event takes place on Eterna, where most elves have lived since leaving their home on Vieques after the U.S. Navy arrived. Three teenagers are allowed onto Eterna, where they can earn magical powers in exchange for their dreams, which feed the elves’ own powers of illusion. Alongside her two other human companions, Jason Baxter, a Black trans boy from Atlanta, and Kang Ryujin, a South Korean gymnast, Sevim undergoes the elves’ challenges. But the more time Sevim spends on Eterna, the more she realizes that Aro is keeping dangerous secrets—secrets that may well determine her own fate. Featuring plenty of adventure, puzzles, twists, and a dash of romance, this novel has original, if slightly convoluted, worldbuilding that forms the basis of an imaginative story about friendship, family, and, ultimately, carving out your own identity.

A magical and romantic tale of identity. (Fantasy. 14-18)

Pub Date: March 28, 2023

ISBN: 978-1-64567-614-0

Page Count: 368

Publisher: Page Street

Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2023

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MAKE ME A MONSTER

Chilling yet romantic; explores the complexities of death, love, and grief.

A teenage mortician’s assistant discovers that the dead don’t always stay that way.

Seventeen-year-old Meka is no stranger to death, having grown up working in her parents’ Ithaca, New York, funeral home. Though the morbidity of her job unsettles some of her friends, Meka is passionate about her family’s business, and she has the full support of her boyfriend, Noah. But despite her comfort with death, she’s haunted by a recurring nightmare about her mother dying—a dream she desperately hopes won’t come true. When Meka’s life is rocked by a completely unexpected tragedy, strange things begin happening: She sees shadowy figures lurking, a mysterious gift arrives on her doorstep, and fragments of a buried memory resurface. As Meka slowly pieces together the truth, what she finds forces her to question everything she knows about life and death—and her own family. Bayron crafts a page-turning, atmospheric homage to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, balancing unnerving horror with tender romance. Teens familiar with the original novel will enjoy the modern twist, and the layered mystery will also appeal to reluctant readers and those without prior knowledge of Shelley’s work. The foreboding narrative starts out at a slower pace and builds to an action-packed conclusion, though readers may be left with some unanswered questions. Meka and her family are cued as Black.

Chilling yet romantic; explores the complexities of death, love, and grief. (Horror. 14-18)

Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025

ISBN: 9781547615865

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Review Posted Online: July 3, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025

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A BURNING IN THE BONES

From the Waxways series , Vol. 3

A meticulously crafted magical medical mystery with an emotionally substantive romance.

As in earlier entries, this trilogy closer blends genres as it presents a quest to resolve a strange plague alongside a heartfelt romance and an exploration of shifting allegiances.

With Theo Brood’s father dispatched, Theo and Ren Monroe begin the arduous task of turning the Brood estate into something more egalitarian. Meanwhile, medical student Mercy Whitaker has been sent by her mentor, Dr. Horn, to help victims of a plague that’s sweeping nearby farms. Quick thinking and dogged detective skills lead her right to the source—but not to a full explanation of what’s going on. Concurrently, questions arise after someone from Ren’s past goes missing. Nevelyn Tin’Vori’s careful research, part of her ongoing desire to undermine the Brood dynasty, leads her right to the answers everyone seeks, ones that are directly connected to Mercy’s gruesome discovery. Alliances new and old form and break, as a shadowy group called the Makers threatens to bring down not just the Broods but magic itself. The solidity of the central characters, who continue to grow emotionally through their many varied experiences, brings coherence to the series. Though Ren and Theo, who present white, have grown up over the course of the books, the steadily upbeat pacing and judicious worldbuilding remain ideal for teen readers, preventing any stagnation in this series that ends as interestingly as it started.

A meticulously crafted magical medical mystery with an emotionally substantive romance. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)

Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2025

ISBN: 9781665930499

Page Count: 544

Publisher: McElderry

Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024

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