by Carrie D. Miller ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 27, 2017
A heartfelt fantasy tale with a spirited plot.
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Magic and suspense abound in this moving debut fantasy novel about how far a witch will go to help a friend.
Aven Dovenelle is new to Salem, Massachusetts, where she sets up a shop for potions and charms. Although most of Salem’s other witches resent her, she’s found a true friend in Josephine “Jo” Riddle and her daughter, Sylvia. Jo is a fellow witch who does vision walks, and Aven opens up to her, revealing for the first time that she’s been cursed to live one life after another, with no relief. A mysterious white raven often appears in her peripheral vision, but never long enough for her to find out why. With Jo’s help, she discovers the reasons why she was cursed and why the raven has been following her. The weight of the witchcraft in this story is tempered by the introduction of handsome Cal Jacobs, a down-to-earth plumber who ends up on a date with Aven. He may not initially believe that she’s a witch, but he soon has no choice, as a series of dramatic events unfold, each one testing Aven’s abilities further. It will take an intense amount of “magick” to help her—and possibly the ultimate sacrifice. Aven is a delightful protagonist who’s as funny as she is powerful (at one point, for example, she describes her personal style as “the Garage Sale Queen look”), and her wit keeps the story moving. Miller’s novel also showcases its flawless worldbuilding; it explains Aven’s many lives in compelling terms and offers beautiful sensory details, such as the smells of lemongrass and clove in the shop. The white raven’s occasional chapters of narration are opaque, but otherwise, each character brings the right amount of heart (and plot) to the story. The best part of the novel, however, is Aven and Jo’s friendship, as they often seem to genuinely enjoy each other’s company; they’re characters that fantasy fans won’t soon forget.
A heartfelt fantasy tale with a spirited plot.Pub Date: April 27, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-947024-01-4
Page Count: 412
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Kristin Hannah ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2006
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
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by J.D. Salinger ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 15, 1951
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
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