The door's wide open on my guess as to how this will sell. It may get a break, it may be read by the right people, those rare adults who can go over the border of the Never Never Land without a backward look, who can sense intuitively that intangible outer fringe of unreality that is wholly real to children. Let's say that those who loved the fey quality in Barrie — in Robert Nathan —who read their Alice for sheer escape rather than self conscious nostalgia, they will touch the gossamer beauty of The Little Prince, and chuckle over it, and take it as simply and unaffectedly as "St Ex" himself. Perhaps belief in "the little prince" is the forerunner of belief in the gremlins; who knows? This is a fairy tale for grown ups; later the children will claim it, I am sure. It is the tale of the tiny creature who came to Saint-Exupery when he was stranded in the Sahara, who told him the saga of his exotic travels in search of truth, when he left his own tiny asteroid, and visited others, until he reached the earth. It was the fox who wanted to be tamed who taught him that he must return to his own and find there the happiness and the meaning of life he had left....I've seen only a few of the pictures which the author has made an integral part of the text. They are being printed in color — and the text simultaneously, in French and English.
Pub Date: April 6, 1943
ISBN: 0547978847
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Reynal & Hitchoock
Review Posted Online: June 18, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1943
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PROFILES
A nonstop adventure with plenty of magic and romance to draw in avid YA fantasy fans.
In this second installment of Owen’s YA fantasy series, a young woman impersonates her twin sister, a queen, while fighting for her own life.
After the events of The Liars Crown (2022), Meren has successfully impersonated her twin sister, Tabra, as the queen of Aryd; her sibling is currently hiding in the desert. But her sister’s evil husband, King Eidolon, knows the truth and has magically bound Meren to him with a sand nymph’s curse. The secret of his apparent immortality is still a mystery, but he somehow sheds “shadows” (“fractured, evil pieces of the king’s soul”) to create younger versions of himself—and his queens are always sacrificed to make it possible. However, one of these shadows, Reven, has managed to fight off the evil that permeates his nature. He and Meren have fallen in love, although he’s forced to constantly fight the shadows still contained within himself: “Their screams are like ragged blades shredding my insides as they try to claw their way out,” he narrates at one point. “If I look down, I know I’ll see their faces bulging out of my skin, even under my clothing.” Reven mounts a daring mission to rescue Meren alongside Cain, a member of a nomadic tribe known as the Wanderers who also vies for her heart. The most engaging adventures begin as the main characters attempt to defeat Eidolon’s shadows once and for all; Meren has power over sand and Reven has power over shadows, but those abilities become unreliable, which effectively puts them all in danger. Fans of Sarah J. Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses series will find much to enjoy in Owen’s work, which features plenty of fast-paced action and sexy-but-forbidden romance. Meren’s tendency to deliver sassy quips also provides a feeling of lightness to the author’s well-drawn and immersive fantasy world, and a jaw-dropping cliffhanger ensures that there’s more story to be told.
A nonstop adventure with plenty of magic and romance to draw in avid YA fantasy fans.Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9781649372819
Page Count: 460
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Review Posted Online: April 10, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A refreshing fantasy for readers looking for more friendship and adventure, less romance.
From orphan to assassin-in-training to...savior of the kingdom?
Sirscha is focused on becoming the next queen’s Shadow. Training for the past four years, she has endured grueling trials and humiliations to prove herself among the elite. Less than a month from graduation, however, she intercepts a message that sets off a chain of events that derails her plans. Set on an unexpected path, Sirscha discovers new abilities and finds kinship with the persecuted shamanborn, those with elemental magic whom she once would have hunted down. If she can maintain some control, her powers may be able to help heal the rot in the kingdom, but Sirscha will ultimately question her loyalty to her queen and country. While the story skirts the “orphans of mysterious origins” trope, Sirscha’s path to discovery and acceptance is thoughtful and heartfelt. It is also refreshing to see a character too busy kicking butt to stop for romance. This is not an Asian fantasy per se but a fantastical adventure with some Asian touches, indicated through descriptions of landscape and food. Characters are described with a range of skin tones from deep bronze to gray. Also, it is implied that same-sex marriage is accepted as a given.
A refreshing fantasy for readers looking for more friendship and adventure, less romance. (glossary) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: June 23, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-62414-9245
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Page Street
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2020
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BOOK REVIEW
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