Spiritually tinged YA fantasy that may cast a spell over fans of the Twilight Saga.
An alienated high schooler, relocated to tourist destination Mount Shasta in California, finds that she’s descended from a secret group of warring nonhumans with supernatural aspects.
Seventeen-year-old Ellie Blake has long felt like the odd one out in her family. She’s redhaired, unlike any of her relatives, and overprotected by her mother, Eleanor, with whom she lives; her father, Nathan, who lives elsewhere, has always favored her older sister, Jenna. Ellie also keeps it a secret that she can see human auras. After Eleanor dies of cancer, Ellie and Jenna go to live with their father in Northern California’s Mount Shasta region, where he’s inherited an inn catering totourists who frequent the area, lured by rumors of Bigfoot and a lost civilization of “Lemurians,” who supposedly dwell within the mountain. After glimpsing a phantom of a girl, Ellie learns that Lemurians exist; they’re a long-lived, nonhuman species with occult powers. At some point in their teenage years,a Lemurian must choose to be either a magic-wielding Mystic or a potentially lethal Vampire who feeds off the life-energy of others—including unwitting humans. A schism developed between the branches, and now Vampires are hunting and killing Mystics, with unaffiliated young Changelings caught in the middle. It turns out Lemurian-descended Ellie is a Changeling herself, and one of illustrious lineage. The novel’s lost-world premise is one of the oldest in pulp fantasy, but the tone here trends closer to Stephenie Meyer than Edgar Rice Burroughs; the settings here aren’t dazzling kingdoms, but bioluminous caves, glades, public parks, crystal-souvenir shops, and teenage hangouts as the mythic Lemurians lurk amid ignorant humans. There’s a tantalizing suggestion that the bulk of Lemurian territory might abide in an alternate dimension. For the most part, though, it feels as if this sequel-ready outing could plug in cast members of other popular YA paranormal series without changing its story too much. A niche readership may also enjoy the Mount Shasta and Trinity National Park place names and ambiance.
Spiritually tinged YA fantasy that may cast a spell over fans of the Twilight Saga.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 9798988242437
Page Count: 337
Publisher: Mystic Forest Publishing
Review Posted Online: Nov. 29, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.
Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868138
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
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