A gentle love story and a fantasy that faces the dark voices of anxiety and depression with mettle.
Sixteen-year-old Clara Lucas makes an unbearable bargain to control her wild magic so she can save Papa from her accidental curse.
All Clara and childhood best friend Xavier Morwyn ever wanted was to be healers like his parents. But while Xavier was certified as a wizard a year earlier than is usual, Clara was left behind. Her magic is wild and unpredictable, always taunting her and playing on her worst fears of failure. When the Council of Magicians declares Clara’s magic must either be neutralized or bound, making spellcasting painful, Clara chooses the latter—until the results poison Papa. Only she can counter her accidental curse with a healing blessing, but she must first have full control of her magic. She begs Xavier to teach her how; he agrees but on one condition: Once Papa is healed, Clara must give Xavier her magic. A slow-burn romance and a soft, sweet fantasy unfold. The portrayal of anxiety as Clara’s magic is not subtle, but many readers familiar with mental health struggles will recognize the voice that taunts and haunts Clara. At the same time, she overcomes her challenges more quickly than can be expected in real life; a subplot around a potion to cure melancholy includes subtle messaging that is ultimately more supportive of medical intervention than it may at first appear. Main characters are cued White.
A gentle love story and a fantasy that faces the dark voices of anxiety and depression with mettle. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: March 14, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-06-321459-0
Page Count: 352
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Combines the best parts of the earlier books with confidence and creativity, sustaining strong momentum throughout.
Friendships, romance, and long-awaited answers combine for a triumphant trilogy closer.
A couple of dramatic prologues and some early exposition bring readers up to speed about the mysteries and players of Hemlock Falls. Winnie Wednesday, Erica Thursday, and Jay Friday have formed a clue-gathering trio collectively known as the WTF triangle. The three agree to work together to uncover the truth behind mysteries involving Winnie’s missing father and Erica’s late sister. Winnie’s star has risen in this entry: Characters who teased her during the events of the first book are now cheerfully welcoming toward her, and her romance with werewolf Jay continues to heat up. Her ongoing guilt and trauma over deaths from prior books ground the narrative, while sprinkled-in pop-culture references and a recurring Emily Dickinson motif showcase her nerdy personality. Changes in the format—such as scriptlike dialogue sequences and daily schedules for the Nightmare Masquerade—break up the narration in creative ways. The eventual reveal of a looming threat that’s targeting everyone Winnie knows starts the countdown of a ticking clock within the story. Meanwhile, a slew of fantasy monsters ensure high enough stakes, suspense, and action to bring the story to a heart-racing and satisfying conclusion. Winnie and Jay present white, and Erica is cued Latine.
Combines the best parts of the earlier books with confidence and creativity, sustaining strong momentum throughout. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 19, 2024
ISBN: 9781250339485
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Tor Teen
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
Another engaging entry in this world of spies and international intrigue.
Pop superstar Winter Young is again drawn into the world of secret agent Sydney Cossette in this follow-up to Stars and Smoke (2023).
Though constantly on one another’s minds, Winter and Sydney have resisted making any contact with each other since narrowly surviving a mission in which Panacea, the secret organization Sydney works for, tapped Winter to use his megastar status to infiltrate a wealthy and powerful criminal underworld. Ratcheting up the tension in this enemies-to-lovers romantic thriller is the fact that Sydney is being sent to Singapore to extract Tems, a fellow agent who also happens to be her ex. Winter, who needs a plus-one for a Warcross Championship gala in order to better maintain his cover, invites his former girlfriend. Witty insults and crossed signals abound in the pair’s smoldering relationship, but this second installment is a bit darker than the first. If some of the betrayals and losses involved are easy enough to spot coming, they still pack an emotional punch due to the strong development of Winter’s and Sydney’s respective backstories, told in alternating third-person narratives, both involving abuse and psychological pain. Winter is Chinese American; Sydney is white, and there’s a diverse cast of supporting characters whom readers will likely see again—Lu has left the ending tantalizingly open for another installment.
Another engaging entry in this world of spies and international intrigue. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: June 11, 2024
ISBN: 9781250852915
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
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