Romance genre readers who expect a happy ending and teen fans of fandoms may enjoy this timely retelling; others may find...
Cinderella jumps aboard the Enterprise in this entertaining if somewhat paint-by-numbers version of the classic fairy tale.
Elle is a dreamy white geek girl who blogs about the television series Starfield and whose deceased, cosplaying father started the original Starfield convention, ExcelsiCon. Brown-skinned part British-Indian Darien is a hunky teen soap actor who has been cast as the lead in the film reboot of Starfield, much to the dismay of hard-core fans like Elle. When Darien accidently calls Elle while trying to reach the management at ExcelsiCon, the two embark on an anonymous texting romance. Their stars collide when Elle enters a cosplay contest that Darien is judging at ExcelsiCon in order to win a life away from her mean stepmother. Poston follows the “Cinderella” plot to a tee. Fairy godmother? Check, in the form of green-haired lesbian seamstress Sage. Unconventional mode of transportation? Check, in the form of the Magic Pumpkin, a vegan food truck. There’s even a pair of glass slippers and a Cosplay Ball. Endless references to real-life fandoms from Star Trek to The Lord of the Rings make this book feel like a long, chummy in-joke.
Romance genre readers who expect a happy ending and teen fans of fandoms may enjoy this timely retelling; others may find the derivative plot too on-the-nose. (Fiction. 12-15)Pub Date: April 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-59474-950-6
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 20, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2017
Teens who have outgrown Percy Jackson and moved into the paranormal-romance phase won't mind the amateurish prose; they'll...
What if Bella Swan were a demigod?
Helen is the loveliest girl on Nantucket, but until the sexy Delos family comes to the island, she's always tried to stay under the radar. It's not just her looks that attract attention; Helen knows her strength, speed and hearing all approach superpower levels. But she can't stay hidden in the presence of the Delos cousins, Jason, Hector, Cassandra, Ariadne and the sexiest one, Lucas—yes, Lucas. (Some complicated handwaving explains why he is named Lucas instead of—as was intended—Paris.) Readers trained on trendy Greek mythological fantasy won't be surprised to learn both Helen and the newcomers are demigods. In their blonde beauty (really!), they look exactly like their quasi-mythological ancestors and are cursed by the Furies and the gods to replay ancient dramas across history. Lucas and Helen are both drawn together and forced apart by fate and desire. The cousins, meanwhile, help Helen develop her powerful demigod abilities while tutoring her on the massive forces arrayed against her. Though weirdly inconsistent perspective, startling shifts of voice and scenes that feel like they've been copied almost directly from Twilight break the flow, the drama's epic scale complements the love story's pacing. A refreshingly strong heroine carries readers into the setup for book two.
Teens who have outgrown Percy Jackson and moved into the paranormal-romance phase won't mind the amateurish prose; they'll be caught up in the we-must-we-can't sexual tension. (Paranormal romance. 13-15)Pub Date: June 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-201199-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
Alice is aware that everything has been going downhill since her younger brother was born, her mother suffered from severe postpartum depression, her grandmother died and her father left. Truculent and unhappy, the victim of the school queen bee’s contempt, and too frequently charged with caring for her 7-year-old brother, Alice is saved by a time loop just in time. She escapes a perfect storm of bad feeling—caught in lies to her mother and best friend, overhearing that the boy she likes probably only wants to “get into her pants”—when a twirl on a merry-go-round tosses her back into her 7-year-old self. As a child with the consciousness of a 14-year-old, Alice begins to untangle the threads of her future unhappiness, sorting out what she really wants for herself and for those she loves, learning that letting go—in this case, of her grandmother, whose cancer is already claiming her life—is part of living. She finds with the somewhat abrupt return to her 14-year-old self that her changed decisions have transformed much of what was wrong in the beginning. Bush’s first novel offers the message that we choose our futures, sometimes unwittingly, and subtly hints at some control over the mistakes of the past. Immensely satisfying for readers just realizing the power to make their own choices. (Fantasy. 12-15)
Pub Date: April 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2329-3
Page Count: 198
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 27, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2011
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