Gorgeous, atmospheric, and addictive but ultimately frustrating; absolutely necessary wherever the first has fans.
This second in a projected trilogy provides a sumptuous genre-blend of time travel, dark fantasy and post-apocalyptic thriller, along with more complications than answers.
It starts with a literal explosion, as most of the cast of teenagers, adventurers, schoolmasters, changelings, ghosts and duplicated cats hunker down at the crumbling Wintercombe Abbey, desperately trying to master the Chronoptika—excepting Sarah, sent from a ravaged future to destroy the enigmatic device, and Jake, trapped in the London Blitz. While none of them (with good reason) trusts the others, they agree to work together to save Jake, then to rescue his father. Meanwhile, the vicious queen of the Shee seduces and rages, the Victorian spiritualist Alicia meddles and schemes, and the future tyrant Janus sends back his “replicants” to threaten and mock. The fiendishly labyrinthine plot twists back and forth through perspectives and centuries, from England to medieval Florence to the dreamlike illusions of the Summerland, but elegant prose, deft characterization and an acute eye for telling details keep readers anchored. Although none of the characters, all imprisoned in the grips of their selfish obsessions, is particularly likable, the narrative hurtles at a breathless pace, compelling readers to follow to the final cliffhanger.
Gorgeous, atmospheric, and addictive but ultimately frustrating; absolutely necessary wherever the first has fans. (Science fiction/fantasy. 12 & up)Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3970-3
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 7, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
A coming-of-age narrative with no easy answers but in which hope blooms.
Pulled between her feelings of obligation to her family and the lure of her own dreams, Sol must find a way to straddle both political and personal borderlands.
Sol means sun in Spanish, and it embodies the effervescent young woman Sol strives to be. But her name is short for Soledad, which means solitude and represents not only the feast day on which she was born, but the isolation she has felt since her mother died. By virtue of her birth, she is the only U.S. citizen in her family, so she can attend a high school across the border from Tijuana—and even one day a U.S. university, something she has long dreamed of. For now, though, it also means she’s the only one eligible to work in the States. As her family struggles with grief, Sol shoulders the burden of supporting them financially. On the one hand, living with friends on the California side of the border opens up opportunities to cultivate new relationships and renew old ones. On the other hand, she misses seeing her family every day. The push and pull between her desires and obligations in both Mexico and the U.S. turns the border into a liminal space that represents the dichotomy and tension it requires to balance between being Sol and Soledad. Though outside tensions build to a climactic moment, the story’s heart lies within Sol’s first-person stream-of-consciousness narration.
A coming-of-age narrative with no easy answers but in which hope blooms. (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-316-70447-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Some quality worldbuilding, but the story only inches along.
Juliette, the girl with the deadly touch, struggles to fit in with the resistance movement that saved her at the end of Shatter Me(2011).
In training to participate in an inevitable war against the Reestablishment, Juliette Ferrars should feel at home at Omega Point. In addition to no longer being a prisoner, she is surrounded by other people with supernatural gifts. Compassionate Castle tries to help her master her abilities, and Kenji tries to help her fit in, but the devastating nature of Juliette’s power hampers her efforts. Additionally, Adam is acting strangely—in large part because of his work with Castle to determine why he is able to touch Juliette safely—which causes difficulties in their relationship. Soon some of her new comrades are abducted while on patrol by soldiers led by Warner’s father, who demands a meeting with Juliette. The resistance is able to come away from the meeting with a hostage, Warner, who resumes his part in the established love triangle. Too much of the plot relies on Juliette’s withholding of important information and revelations, even against her own judgment. The bloated relationship drama takes priority over the captive resistance members in the buildup to the climax, which finally brings action before setting up the next novel.
Some quality worldbuilding, but the story only inches along. (Science fiction. 13 & up)Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-208553-5
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 11, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2013
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