Incredibly immersive and tightly plotted.
Made an outcast by her mother’s crimes, a girl fights to uncover the secrets of those that control her sequestered City.
Sixteen-year-old Jiang Sev, called Sevvy, was once a member of the most revered group in the City: Firsts—those of superior wisdom. But eight years ago, her mother betrayed the City, ushering in encephalitis lethargica, or sleeping sickness, and informing the enemy of their location. Sevvy was rebranded a Fourth, the lowest caste, and sent to a military family for re-education. But when an enemy bomb falls near Sevvy and her friend, everything accelerates. The City paints Sevvy as a suspect in the bombing due to her mother’s past. While sneaking through her own manhunt, Sevvy meets a boy who seeks to help her—shockingly, he’s the Chairman’s son. He goes by Howl, and he wants her to venture outside with him, where both fantastical beasts and those ravaged by sleeping sickness roam. As a loyal citizen, Sevvy feels conflicted—but she has nowhere else to go. As Sevvy embarks on a wild journey, she must navigate the duplicity of war, decide whom she can truly trust, and unravel the truth of her past. Brimming with rich detail in an Asian-inflected alternative world that’s lightly touched with Maoist terminology and concepts and helmed by achingly real characters, Sevvy’s story is thrilling to get lost in. By the end, readers will be clamoring for more.
Incredibly immersive and tightly plotted. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-8613-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 6, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A celebration of Black teen love and the magic of possibility.
Six authors collaborate to create an interwoven story set during a blackout.
Unbearably hot temperatures in New York City cause a sudden blackout, simultaneously throwing plans into chaos and creating unexpected opportunities. Contributor Clayton, who is joined by YA superstars Jackson, Stone, Thomas, Woodfolk, and Yoon, was inspired by Covid-19 and the “metaphorical blackout” it has created for the world to initiate this project that embraces a wide spectrum of Blackness and sexuality. The characters’ final destination is a block party in Brooklyn with Jackson’s “The Long Walk,” a story about reconnecting exes told in five acts, serving as the overarching mechanism to connect the narratives. Stone and Woodfolk contribute queer love stories in “Mask Off” and “Made To Fit” respectively. Thomas’ “No Sleep ’Til Brooklyn” begins as a love triangle, progresses to a love quadrangle—and in the end is about self-love and discovery. Clayton’s story, “All the Great Love Stories…and Dust,” is set in the New York Public Library’s main branch and centers on best friends who may become something more. Yoon’s piece completes the novel with strangers finding love in a ride-share car in “Seymour and Grace.” Working together to deliver a fantastic mix of humor and romance, these authors offer something fun and lighthearted that is welcome during the continuing pandemic and that will bring joy long after it’s over.
A celebration of Black teen love and the magic of possibility. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 22, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-308809-2
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2021
BOOK TO SCREEN
SEEN & HEARD
Readable but not remarkable, yet another grimdark political fantasy.
Prison life gets even more punishing in this fantasy series opener.
Seventeen-year-old Kiva Meridan is 10 years into a life sentence at “death prison” Zalindov. She’s succeeded her late father as the titular prison healer, dosing patients with herbs and possessing extensive, modern medical knowledge of bacteria, viruses, and immune systems. Aside from cheerful innocent/MacGuffin Tipp, Kiva befriends few fellow prisoners and even fewer guards, most of whom are harshly abusive. While Naari, a new female guard, and Jaren, a handsome new prisoner, chip away at her frozen facade, Kiva volunteers to undertake an epic Trial by Ordeal on behalf of the Rebel Queen, the newest political prisoner. Under pressure to save her friends, the Rebel Queen, and herself—and losing hope of rescue or release—Kiva faces four elemental magic Trials sans innate talent. In between grueling, gruesome spectacles, Kiva also acts as an epidemiologist, tracking down an illness plaguing the prisoners. The claustrophobic setting—evoking the horrors of a Siberian gulag or Nazi concentration camp—exudes dread and brutality; levity and lightness are minimal. A predictable romance ensues, and generic fantasy clichés abound—royals and rebels, lost heirs, vague magic—hastily concluded with a trite plot twist and setup for a sequel. Most main characters read as White; there is a diversity of skin tones in this fantasy world.
Readable but not remarkable, yet another grimdark political fantasy. (map) (Fantasy. 15-adult)Pub Date: April 13, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-358-43455-9
Page Count: 416
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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