Widdershins is back, in her last and most dangerous adventure.
After the events of Lost Covenant (2013), Shins, along with psychic hitchhiker and personal god Olgun, is finally ready to return to Davillon and face the pain and grief she ran from. As usual, she finds herself in the middle of trouble, danger and quip-filled adventures. Davillon has become a hotbed of unrest. Dark rumors and shadowy evils stalk the streets; the bodies of everyone Shins has loved and lost have been exhumed and left in her various safe houses, and Lisette Suvagne, who has dogged Widdershins since the first volume, has taken over the Finder’s Guild term, allied herself with members of the Gloaming Court, and is leading the attack on the city, on the church and on Shins. What’s a thief with a heart of gold to do? As has been true of the series thus far, things get darker with each adventure. Shins must face her own mortality and face up to the fallout (political, interpersonal and paranormal) from her own previous actions and decisions, a fitting finale for a series that has concerned itself with the growth of its protagonist. The prose is purple, the stakes are high, and the ending is exactly right.
Smart fantasy with heart and enough bad puns to last a lifetime. (Fantasy. 13 & up)Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-61614-986-4
Page Count: 250
Publisher: Pyr/Prometheus Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
Categories: TEEN FICTION | TEEN SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY
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This story is necessary. This story is important.
11
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Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter is a black girl and an expert at navigating the two worlds she exists in: one at Garden Heights, her black neighborhood, and the other at Williamson Prep, her suburban, mostly white high school.
Walking the line between the two becomes immensely harder when Starr is present at the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend, Khalil, by a white police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Khalil’s death becomes national news, where he’s called a thug and possible drug dealer and gangbanger. His death becomes justified in the eyes of many, including one of Starr’s best friends at school. The police’s lackadaisical attitude sparks anger and then protests in the community, turning it into a war zone. Questions remain about what happened in the moments leading to Khalil’s death, and the only witness is Starr, who must now decide what to say or do, if anything. Thomas cuts to the heart of the matter for Starr and for so many like her, laying bare the systemic racism that undergirds her world, and she does so honestly and inescapably, balancing heartbreak and humor. With smooth but powerful prose delivered in Starr’s natural, emphatic voice, finely nuanced characters, and intricate and realistic relationship dynamics, this novel will have readers rooting for Starr and opening their hearts to her friends and family.
This story is necessary. This story is important. (Fiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-249853-3
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
Categories: TEEN FICTION | TEEN SOCIAL THEMES
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SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
An emotionally engaging closer that fumbles in its final moments.
21
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Lara Jean prepares for college and a wedding.
Korean-American Lara Jean is finally settled into a nice, complication-free relationship with her white boyfriend, Peter. But things don’t stay simple for long. When college acceptance letters roll in, Peter and Lara Jean discover they’re heading in different directions. As the two discuss the long-distance thing, Lara Jean’s widower father is making a major commitment: marrying the neighbor lady he’s been dating. The whirlwind of a wedding, college visits, prom, and the last few months of senior year provides an excellent backdrop for this final book about Lara Jean. The characters ping from event to event with emotions always at the forefront. Han further develops her cast, pushing them to new maturity and leaving few stones unturned. There’s only one problem here, and it’s what’s always held this series back from true greatness: Peter. Despite Han’s best efforts to flesh out Peter with abandonment issues and a crummy dad, he remains little more than a handsome jock. Frankly, Lara Jean and Peter may have cute teen chemistry, but Han's nuanced characterizations have often helped to subvert typical teen love-story tropes. This knowing subversion is frustratingly absent from the novel's denouement.
An emotionally engaging closer that fumbles in its final moments. (Romance. 14-17)Pub Date: May 2, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-3048-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
Categories: TEEN FICTION | TEEN ROMANCE | TEEN SOCIAL THEMES
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