An inventive, compelling debut that’s sure to leave readers eager for the next installment.
Just out of sight, a banished society dedicated to artistic exploration and scientific advancement flourishes.
At age 17, Ada Castle lands her first assignment: leave her New York City home for a remote island in the Atlantic; infiltrate the Genesis Institute, the school that forms the heart of this secret society; and bring its bountiful innovations back to share with the rest of the world. Ada descends from one of the Families, a secret order of masters that, since the Renaissance, has passed down the history of the school and its exiled founders, the Makers. Ada’s mission is compromised when she finds a true home at Genesis, one replete with friends, a tantalizing romantic prospect (or two), and nourishment for her unique gifts. Max derives some of the hidden mysteries of the Makers from Jewish mysticism and folk tradition, and she evokes the bloody history of the Spanish Inquisition as a parallel for the expulsion of the original Makers from Renaissance Italy. Ada’s father is Jewish (her agnostic mother’s family is Catholic), and she identifies with other Jewish characters on the basis of their shared culture and history. Clearly calling out antisemitic tropes and emphasizing the diversity of the Makers, Max provides contextualizing details for the worldbuilding, which includes both secret masters and blood magic. The main characters are cued white, and the supporting cast includes a variety of religious and ethnic identities.
An inventive, compelling debut that’s sure to leave readers eager for the next installment. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: May 13, 2025
ISBN: 9781665959841
Page Count: 448
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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
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