This page-turner will leave readers eager for more.
The rapture will begin in modern-day Wyoming.
Seventeen-year-old Daphne can’t wait to put her past in Detroit behind her, while Owen wants to stop the strange nightmares that started on his 18th birthday. Their paths converge in the dying community of Carbon County, Wyo. Her arrival heralded by trumpets from the sky, Daphne ends up living with her uncle, Floyd Peyton, and his family in their overcrowded trailer. The Peytons attend church regularly and always include the charismatic Pastor Ted in their prayers. When Daphne discovers oil behind the Peyton trailer, the community begins to revitalize. Owen finds himself drawn to Daphne, while his mysterious possible half sister, Luna, appears to have an uncanny ability to make strangers do her bidding. As signs of the end of days continue to appear and the community turns against them, Daphne and Owen both begin to question their own actions and motives. What role does free will play if your destiny is preordained? In her debut, Schumacher rounds out her third-person narrative with a varied cast of believable secondary characters and sets the stage for a compelling sequel. In an even greater feat, the author provides a fascinating reimagining of the rapture accessible to both religious and secular readers alike.
This page-turner will leave readers eager for more. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: May 20, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-59514-7486
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
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
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
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