Vivid storytelling with strong teen protagonists and epic magical struggles.
Teens race to save their world from destruction with magic and determination in Gouveia’s middle-grade fantasy novel, one in a series.
Hundreds of years in Earth’s future, young people live in a world called Drifters Realm; they are sent there at age 12 to become magic-wielding “Life Givers,” “Chemists,” “Knowledge Bearers,” “Navigators,” and more. Carrying the tools of their callings in magical backpacks while watched over by benevolent beings called Guardians, the teens learn to use their powers until they reach the age of 18, when they return to Earth. But something has gone wrong: Zane, the villainous adult ruler of Drifters Realm, plots to destroy it, turning the Guardians into killers. Now, 12-year-old Roe (a healing Life-Giver and a newly minted Sorcerer) is in Zane’s crosshairs. With her disgruntled brother Ori, storm-bringing sister Tora, older brother and shape-shifter Theo, and assorted companions, Roe races to fulfill a prophecy that could mean the Realm’s salvation (“From the Unforgettable Forest’s wildflower meadows and Sleeping Giants’ redwood trees…to the gusty winds of the Wandering Plains, ‘Every living thing is counting on me to save Drifters Realm’”). The author gives the teens (and readers) something new to think about by revealing the cause of Zane’s obsessive hatred of Drifters Realm, Roe, and her family. The young protagonists—with Roe at their center—convincingly overcome self-doubt and grow together through physical challenges, painful betrayals, and grueling tests of character as their powers expand. This volume provides a satisfying conclusion to the complex, multicharacter plot that has unfolded over the two previous novels in the series. Those new to the Drifters Realm world may be willing to go along for the ride without knowing the characters’ backstories or what has come before, but a much more rewarding experience begins with book one.
Vivid storytelling with strong teen protagonists and epic magical struggles.Pub Date: Feb. 11, 2025
ISBN: 9798891325555
Page Count: 226
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Review Posted Online: April 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.
On the orders of her mother, a woman goes to dragon-riding school.
Even though her mother is a general in Navarre’s army, 20-year-old Violet Sorrengail was raised by her father to follow his path as a scribe. After his death, though, Violet's mother shocks her by forcing her to enter the elite and deadly dragon rider academy at Basgiath War College. Most students die at the War College: during training sessions, at the hands of their classmates, or by the very dragons they hope to one day be paired with. From Day One, Violet is targeted by her classmates, some because they hate her mother, others because they think she’s too physically frail to succeed. She must survive a daily gauntlet of physical challenges and the deadly attacks of classmates, which she does with the help of secret knowledge handed down by her two older siblings, who'd been students there before her. Violet is at the mercy of the plot rather than being in charge of it, hurtling through one obstacle after another. As a result, the story is action-packed and fast-paced, but Violet is a strange mix of pure competence and total passivity, always managing to come out on the winning side. The book is categorized as romantasy, with Violet pulled between the comforting love she feels from her childhood best friend, Dain Aetos, and the incendiary attraction she feels for family enemy Xaden Riorson. However, the way Dain constantly undermines Violet's abilities and his lack of character development make this an unconvincing storyline. The plots and subplots aren’t well-integrated, with the first half purely focused on Violet’s training, followed by a brief detour for romance, and then a final focus on outside threats.
Read this for the action-packed plot, not character development or worldbuilding.Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9781649374042
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Red Tower
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it.
What happens when a robot washes up alone on an island?
“Everything was just right on the island.” Brown beautifully re-creates the first days of Roz, the protagonist of his Wild Robot novels, as she adapts to living in the natural world. A storm-tossed ship, seen in the opening just before the title page, and a packing crate are the only other human-made objects to appear in this close-up look at the robot and her new home. Roz emerges from the crate, and her first thought as she sets off up a grassy hill—”This must be where I belong”—is sweetly glorious, a note of recognition rather than conquest. Roz learns to move, hide, and communicate like the creatures she meets. When she discovers an orphaned egg—and the gosling Brightbill, who eventually hatches—her decision to be his mother seems a natural extension of her adaptation. Once he flies south for the winter, her quiet wait across seasons for his return is a poignant portrayal of separation and change. Brown’s clean, precise lines and deep, light-filled colors offer a sense of what Roz might be seeing, suggesting a place that is alive yet deeply serene and radiant. Though the book stands alone, it adds an immensely appealing dimension to Roz’s world. Round thumbnails offer charming peeks into the island world, depicting Roz’s animal neighbors and Brightbill’s maturation.
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 24, 2025
ISBN: 9780316669467
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
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