This fantasy series installment maintains excitement through charming protagonists and ever evolving challenges.
This YA fantasy sequel finds sweetheart protagonists solving an ancient puzzle, unaware that a friend intends to betray their magical library.
Recent high school graduates Johanna Charette and Jackson Roth are co-curators of the Library of Illumination. Theirs is one of a dozen libraries in the Illumini System that have magical properties, such as the contents of an open book literally springing to life. In their last epic adventure, the pair helped defeat interdimensional tyrant Nero 51. Now, Jackson is taking courses at Cranford University while Johanna teaches other members of the Roth clan how to run the library. Moving library fixtures one day, the curators find a wooden puzzle. With the help of Ryden Simmdry, Johanna’s father and overseer of the Libraries of Illumination, they open the puzzle and obtain a key. According to the oracle at the Library of Origination, the key unlocks the Re Transfigurator, “a device that transforms reality into something it is not.” Ryden then teaches Johanna a chant to focus her mind while telepathically scanning each dimension’s library for the device. And yet, perhaps these ancient artifacts have remained on separate worlds for a reason. Meanwhile, Jackson’s duplicitous friend Logan Elliott prepares to expose the Library of Illumination and jump-start his reporting career. Pack keeps her series fresh by following her grand prior installment with a back-to-basics adventure. Fans will be glad to reunite with characters like Pru Tellerence (Johanna’s mom) and revisit fanciful worlds such as Comedia and Mysteriose. The chemistry between Johanna and Jackson is playful but respectful. When she says, “Hold me as tightly as you can. I need full surface contact,” he replies, “Why can’t you ask me for that at home when we’re alone?” But Logan is grossly manipulative, particularly of Jackson’s sister, Ava. He parlays her crush on him into access to the library, and from there he abandons all journalistic integrity for his internet program, The Elliott Report. The curators have plenty of experience battling exotic baddies—including Ailill Caomhánach, the first Master of the Libraries—but their next fight may be against public opinion.
This fantasy series installment maintains excitement through charming protagonists and ever evolving challenges.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Manuscript
Review Posted Online: Oct. 20, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Exactly what the title promises.
A grieving teen’s devotion to romance films might ruin her chances at actual romance.
Liz Buxbaum has always adored rom-coms, not least for helping her still feel close to her screenwriter mother, who died when she was little. Liz hopes that her senior year might turn into a real-life romantic fantasy, as an old crush has moved back to town, cuter and nicer than ever. Surely she can get Michael to ask her to prom. If only Wes, the annoying boy next door, would help her with her scheming! This charming, fluffy concoction manages to pack into one goofy plot every conceivable trope, from fake dating to the makeover to the big misunderstanding. Creative, quirky, daydreaming Liz is just shy of an annoying stereotype, saved by a dry wit and unresolved grief and anger. Wes makes for a delightful bad boy with a good heart, and supporting characters—including a sassy best friend, a perfect popular rival, even a (not really) evil stepmother—all get the opportunity to transcend their roles. The only villain here is Liz’s lovelorn imagination, provoking her into foolish lies that cause actual hurt feelings; but she is sufficiently self-aware to make amends just in time for the most important trope of all: a blissfully happy ending. All characters seem to be White by default.
Exactly what the title promises. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6762-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK TO SCREEN
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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