TROUBLEMAKERS

Name: TROUBLEMAKERS
Author: Catherine Barter
ISBN: 978-1-5124-7549-4

by Catherine Barter ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2018

Amid a thoroughly contemporary story about terrorism, email leaks, and a divisive political climate, Lena’s coming-of-age is...

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A 15-year-old London girl struggles with family tensions against a backdrop of bombings, crime, and political skulduggery.

Lena, whose mum died when she was only 3, has been lovingly raised by her brother, Danny (20 years her senior), and his partner, Nick. But Danny’s just gotten a job working for a law-and-order political candidate, and now there’s constant tension at home. There’s a bomber attacking East London supermarkets, and Danny’s boss—in statements Danny wrote for him—uses anti-crime language that Nick, who runs a hippie coffee shop that displays anti-establishment leaflets, despises. As the couple decide to separate to ease the tension in their relationship, Lena becomes increasingly curious about the mother she doesn’t remember, further infuriating her brother. Why is Danny so hostile toward their mother’s old friends? Real life is messy, Lena learns. As well as that: You don’t have to be political to be moral; good people sometimes do rotten things; doing right sometimes hurts the wrong people; and you don’t always get cinematic closure with the secrets of your past. Several secondary characters represent the multiculturalism of modern London; Lena and her family are assumed white.

Amid a thoroughly contemporary story about terrorism, email leaks, and a divisive political climate, Lena’s coming-of-age is wonderfully individual and heartbreakingly real . (Realistic fiction. 12-16)

Pub Date: April 1, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-5124-7549-4

Page Count: 360

Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab

Review Posted Online: Feb. 4, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2018

Categories:

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FAMILY | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES

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ONCE A QUEEN

by Sarah Arthur ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 30, 2024

Evocations of Narnia are not enough to salvage this fantasy, which struggles with thin character development.

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A portal fantasy survivor story from an established devotional writer.

Fourteen-year-old Eva’s maternal grandmother lives on a grand estate in England; Eva and her academic parents live in New Haven, Connecticut. When she and Mum finally visit Carrick Hall, Eva is alternately resentful at what she’s missed and overjoyed to connect with sometimes aloof Grandmother. Alongside questions of Eva’s family history, the summer is permeated by a greater mystery surrounding the work of fictional children’s fantasy writer A.H.W. Clifton, who wrote a Narnialike series that Eva adores. As it happens, Grandmother was one of several children who entered and ruled Ternival, the world of Clifton’s books; the others perished in 1952, and Grandmother hasn’t recovered. The Narnia influences are strong—Eva’s grandmother is the Susan figure who’s repudiated both magic and God—and the ensuing trauma has created rifts that echo through her relationships with her daughter and granddaughter. An early narrative implication that Eva will visit Ternival to set things right barely materializes in this series opener; meanwhile, the religious parable overwhelms the magic elements as the story winds on. The serviceable plot is weakened by shallow characterization. Little backstory appears other than that which immediately concerns the plot, and Eva tends to respond emotionally as the story requires—resentful when her seething silence is required, immediately trusting toward characters readers need to trust. Major characters are cued white.

Evocations of Narnia are not enough to salvage this fantasy, which struggles with thin character development. (author’s note, map, author Q&A) (Religious fantasy. 12-14)

Pub Date: Jan. 30, 2024

ISBN: 9780593194454

Page Count: 384

Publisher: WaterBrook

Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023

Categories:

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FAMILY | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT RELIGIOUS FICTION

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REALM OF WONDERS

From the Queen's Council series , Vol. 3

by Alexandra Monir ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 10, 2023

An uneven spin-off that will likely appeal to fans of the original franchise.

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Readers return to the world of Agrabah from the Disney film Aladdin, this time from the perspective of Princess Jasmine as she faces her biggest challenge yet.

Tragedy strikes Agrabah and the royal family when the sultan is found dead. Even as she grieves her father, Jasmine must worry about her succession to the throne and the growing concerns of a supernatural evil creeping into the kingdom. Though Jasmine feels unprepared to take her father’s place, she accepts her fate. When a challenger emerges and lays claim to the throne, Jasmine must fight to erase everyone’s doubts about a young woman’s ability to reign and take her rightful place as the first sultana. It is interesting to see Agrabah through the perspective of Jasmine and to encounter characters both familiar and new. Monir builds on the Persian-inspired world by giving the new characters Persian names and including nuanced cultural elements. Fighting against long-held traditions and forging a place for women to be equals alongside men are timely themes, and Monir shows Jasmine’s resolve to be a just and suitable leader despite the frightening situations she often encounters. There is a lot of compelling buildup surrounding the mysterious and supernatural elements haunting Jasmine and her world, but the eventual reveal feels confusing and haphazardly patched together.

An uneven spin-off that will likely appeal to fans of the original franchise. (Fantasy. 12-16)