The historically enticing premise is brilliantly crafted, but the story too often becomes ungainly.
In an alternate world in which the U.S. lost World War II, a young man grapples with the cost of revolution.
Almost 80 years ago, the United States was divided among the Axis powers, and Imperial Japan now controls the land from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. Sixteen-year-old American Ren Cabot helps out at his father’s tailoring shop and has tried to avoid trouble ever since his mother’s brutal execution for running an illegal newspaper. It’s a difficult life for biracial Ren in this democratically stunted world. His father is white, and his mother was Chinese-American. Richmond plays this cleverly against the backdrop of a fascist regime that believes itself to be “superior in every way—mentally, physically, and especially racially.” When his father stumbles home injured one night, Ren decides to join the Resistance and aid in a dangerous plot to kidnap the Japanese princess and storm Alcatraz—now a laboratory that conducts experiments to create engineered superhuman soldiers and that may possibly house Ren’s deepest hopes. In this stand-alone companion to The Only Thing to Fear (2014), Richmond skillfully embellishes a dystopian fantasy world shaped by actual events in history. However, readers may be frustrated that the narrative often shoulders plot explanations—secondary characters launch into long, implausible confessionals to tie up loose ends—and there are numerous far-fetched reveals.
The historically enticing premise is brilliantly crafted, but the story too often becomes ungainly. (Alternative history/dystopian adventure. 12-16)Pub Date: March 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-338-11109-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Jan. 21, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
A twisty and entertaining magic-filled mystery that mirrors real-life issues.
A teen’s sense of justice leads her into dark and unexpected places.
Mary Elizabeth lives in the Scar with her Aunt Gia, living life to the fullest with her boyfriend, James; his Neverland boys; and her best friend, Ursula. While Mary balances attending school at Monarch High; partying at Wonderland, a local club for minors; and her internship with the police department that solved her parents’ murders, tensions rise between Legacy, the Scar’s original inhabitants who have a magical lineage, and Narrows, privileged incomers without magic. When the mysterious Mad Hatter strikes, leaving grisly presents for the police, and a wealthy Legacy student disappears, the police chief puts Mary and a young officer on the case in search of answers and justice. The Scar is a complex and realistic setting where Legacy struggle with collective trauma, social unrest, and inequity while rich Narrows families are buying up and building on Legacy land that holds spiritual significance and reshaping the high school to be less inclusive. Themes discussed include politics after the Death of Magic and the co-opting of Legacy culture by Narrows as well as the importance of chosen family. The appearance of familiar characters will draw readers into this story that delves into society’s darkness. Mary is pale-skinned with red hair; ethnic diversity in the cast does not correspond with Legacy versus Narrows status.
A twisty and entertaining magic-filled mystery that mirrors real-life issues. (Fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-368-04938-2
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
Earnest and amusing.
A “beastly girl” meets a handsome boy in a tongue-in-cheek fairy-tale universe vaguely reminiscent of Victorian England.
Not a typical member of the fairyborn aristocracy, Merit has horns, fur, and a tail. Unless she finds a love match or marries a suitor her mother chooses before her next birthday, she will keep them forever. Compared to some in her curse support group, though, she’s not so unfortunate; a tincture of a certain herb from her family’s lands can restore her normal form for a few hours. As penance for his mother’s theft of the herb, Tevin, a magically charming con boy, promises to help Merit secure a worthy partner. Merit and Tevin’s sweet romance grows naturally from their friendship, but supporting characters provide the most entertainment—especially Tevin’s sharpshooting lesbian cousin, Val. In fact, Merit and Tevin match so easily that it’s hard to feel a lot of tension or suspense. Plus, their stalwart crew of friends always seems more than capable of handling the garden-variety villain, an ambitious queen. Sassy chapter titles and the odd cheeky aside infuse the traditional setting with some humor. Refreshingly, marriage equality seems to be the law of the land, and one culture in this world does not believe in binary genders. Most characters are cued as White; there is some diversity of skin tone in the cast.
Earnest and amusing. (Fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: July 20, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-984815-59-0
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
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