A vivid, riveting sequel.
Directed to become personal guard to Sparta’s Queen Helen, Daphne searches for the deities’ lethal hidden agenda.
Bonding with strong-willed, courageous Helen, Daphne experiences Menelaus’ cruelty firsthand. Realizing the conclave of Achaean leaders he’s hosting is seeking an excuse to go to war with Troy and fearing for the safety of Troy’s emissaries, Daphne and Helen slip away to warn them and flee to Troy, where they’re warmly welcomed. Unlike Sparta, vibrant Troy, protected by Apollo’s wall, values arts and culture over warfare, but when 1,000 Achaean ships suddenly arrive, everyone recognizes that the gods have intervened on the Achaeans’ behalf. Fighting off their onslaught alongside Amazons and Trojans, Daphne struggles to learn why the Olympians are invested in this war—and in her. Although she loves Apollo, she despises gods who demand much but give little, ensuring that humans pay the price. Free of vanity, indifferent to the male gaze, and portrayed without objectification, Daphne’s the compelling hero of an epic that is closer in tone to its Homeric source than to many pop-culture iterations. Abandoning the traditional casus belli—Helen’s beauty and abduction—Andrews grants her agency, too. Greek myths describe a world ruled by flawed gods, their inhumanly vast powers accompanied by petty desires; yet many other retellings soft-pedal the costs of living there. Daphne’s choices exact a high price, but for true heroes, winning isn’t everything; it’s not even the point. Characters are diverse in appearance.
A vivid, riveting sequel. (map, author’s note, glossary) (Fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-316-36674-8
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and...
A deliciously creepy page-turning gem from first-time writer and illustrator Brosgol finds brooding teenager Anya trying to escape the past—both her own and the ghost haunting her.
Anya feels out of place at her preppy private school; embarrassed by her Russian heritage, she has worked hard to lose her accent and to look more like everyone else. After a particularly frustrating morning at the bus stop, Anya storms off, only to accidentally fall down a well. Down in the dark hole, she meets Emily, a ghost who claims to be a murder victim trapped down in the dank abyss for 90 years. With Emily’s help, Anya manages to escape, though once free, she learns that Emily has traveled out with her. At first, Emily seems like the perfect friend; however, once her motives become clear, Anya learns that “perfect” may only be an illusion. A moodily atmospheric spectrum of grays washes over the clean, tidy panels, setting a distinct stage before the first words appear. Brosgol’s tight storytelling invokes the chilling feeling of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (2002), though for a decidedly older set.
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and outward appearance. (Graphic supernatural fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: June 7, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59643-552-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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