With mediocre exposition and with battles superseding the previous volumes’ fluttery abstinence-romance scenes, this won’t...
The bloom is off the rose in the conclusion of a paranormal romance featuring faeries who are, biologically, plants.
At first (Wings, 2009; Spells, 2010), blond, zitless Laurel seemed idealized but unique: Laurel oozes sap (not blood) when injured, and the prose likewise was pleasant and refreshingly non-angsty for the genre. By this fourth volume, however, any freshness has faded. Four friends—faeries Laurel and Tamani, humans David and Chelsea—fight to defend idyllic Avalon against renegade faeries and ugly trolls. David wields Excalibur, echoing King Arthur, though the Arthurian theme never jells. Cliché (“A true hero knows love is more powerful than hate”) and purple prose (“A single tear, glistening in the moonlight, slid down her porcelain cheek”) sprout up, overwhelming vivid images and one particularly clever textual misdirection. Despite claiming a “deadly fast-forward” pace, fight scenes drag. Laurel hopes her love triangle will become a neat square (with David finally noticing Chelsea), but just before—before—a strong closing chapter, Pike interrupts with an Author’s Note, counseling, “if you prefer your endings happy… maybe you should stop reading here.” This bizarre Note disrupts the fiction and sabotages the last chapter’s emotional power—and its content.
With mediocre exposition and with battles superseding the previous volumes’ fluttery abstinence-romance scenes, this won’t attract new fans, but it will gratify loyal followers by providing closure. (Paranormal romance. 13 & up)Pub Date: May 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-06-166812-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: March 27, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2012
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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