Another solid outing from Williams.
A girl who’s recently moved to a small Florida town knows the women in her family gain control of supernatural Gifts on their 15th birthdays, but the nature of her own gift might not make Evie happy.
At first, Evie Messenger is sure she has no Gift at all. When a medium fails to see what her Gift might be, the white teen doesn’t press the issue because she’s happy to be an “oddball,” a Messenger woman with no Gift. But that night, she meets a pale, black-haired girl named Tommie, who keeps showing up and has some sort of undefined problem. It turns out that Evie indeed does have a Gift, a terrifying one: she can directly communicate with the dead. Tommie, of course, has died, but she doesn’t know it. Complicating matters is the fact that Tommie was the daughter of JimDaddy, Evie’s new stepfather, and the girlfriend of Buddy, Evie’s new boyfriend. Evie not only must deal with this tangled web, but also come to terms with her Gift and learn how to use it properly so that she can help the dead souls that come to her. Williams creates a recognizable world with Evie and her working-class, white family, whose colloquial speech (“Now lookit”) provides extra dimension. Even though her Gift may be supernatural, Evie herself comes across as a well-rounded, likable character.
Another solid outing from Williams. (Paranormal fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-5776-7
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
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
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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