An enjoyable-enough read for high-fantasy fans and readers with a substantial tolerance for blood
In this sequel to The Last Changeling (2014), set entirely in Faerie, faerie princess and revolutionary Elora, supported by Taylor and a handful of other human stalwarts, continues her mission to free the faerie underclass as conflict between Bright and Dark intensifies.
Relying on the Seelie Court to help free her people from her mother’s brutal regime, Elora lays her plans. Shorn of her wings, she finds comfort and healing in Taylor’s arms as they prepare for the struggles ahead; making and learning to use new weapons keep the humans occupied. Discovering their old nemesis, the unspeakable Brad, badly injured, they realize that the dark faeries aren’t their only enemies. As the plot shifts from Seelie to Unseelie realms, the plot grows increasingly violent—humans are tortured, torrents of blood are shed, limbs are hacked off. (In contrast to this, Faerie overall is vaguely rendered, thanks to inconsistent worldbuilding.) Interrupting vividly detailed bouts of torture, alternate narrators Elora and Taylor muse elegiacally on ends vs. means; eventually the action slows to a crawl as characters make long speeches. Turgid, high-fantasy melodrama was absent from the first outing, where ethereal Elora’s attempts to fit into all-too-real high school culture made for humor and grounded the plot in our familiar world. Fortunately, Taylor’s distinctive voice and smart, self-deprecating humor remain narrative strengths that mask structural failings.
An enjoyable-enough read for high-fantasy fans and readers with a substantial tolerance for blood . (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 8, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7387-4349-3
Page Count: 408
Publisher: Flux
Review Posted Online: Aug. 25, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
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