A lush and compelling debut.
A teenage girl in an Irish-inspired world must learn how to harness a powerful gift.
In Domhain, where dragons roam, every 17-year-old faces the Reckoning: a ceremony that reveals whether they possess the rare ability to channel magic. Shortly before her ceremony, orphaned Éadha learns she’s a Channeller—which is rare for girls, especially ones who, like her, don’t come from privileged Families. Meanwhile, her best friend, Ionáin, must have inherited the ability to preserve his Family’s rule. When he fails to manifest power at the crucial moment, Éadha secretly channels her strength into him, forging the illusion that he possesses the gift. Together, they’re sent away to be trained—she as a lower status Keeper. Éadha is horrified to discover the truth: The Channellers’ magic isn’t their own. It’s stolen, ripped from the lives of Fodder, people deemed unworthy who are sacrificed to sustain the powerful. Now Éadha must keep concealing her true ability, continue secretly fueling Ionáin’s false magic, and survive a world of dangerous alliances, ruthless instructors, and whispered betrayals. All the while, she wrestles with the devastating knowledge that the society she’s been raised in is built upon a monstrous lie. Brimming with intrigue, romance, and peril, this fast-paced fantasy sweeps readers into a world of impossible choices and breathtaking twists that will leave them racing toward the end. Éadha has honey-brown skin, and Ionáin is pale-skinned.
A lush and compelling debut. (pronunciation guide, map, content note) (Fantasy. 13-18)Pub Date: March 3, 2026
ISBN: 9798217040506
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A thoughtful and thrilling story of life, death, and meaning.
Two teens train to be society-sanctioned killers in an otherwise immortal world.
On post-mortal Earth, humans live long (if not particularly passionate) lives without fear of disease, aging, or accidents. Operating independently of the governing AI (called the Thunderhead since it evolved from the cloud), scythes rely on 10 commandments, quotas, and their own moral codes to glean the population. After challenging Hon. Scythe Faraday, 16-year-olds Rowan Damisch and Citra Terranova reluctantly become his apprentices. Subjected to killcraft training, exposed to numerous executions, and discouraged from becoming allies or lovers, the two find themselves engaged in a fatal competition but equally determined to fight corruption and cruelty. The vivid and often violent action unfolds slowly, anchored in complex worldbuilding and propelled by political machinations and existential musings. Scythes’ journal entries accompany Rowan’s and Citra’s dual and dueling narratives, revealing both personal struggles and societal problems. The futuristic post–2042 MidMerican world is both dystopia and utopia, free of fear, unexpected death, and blatant racism—multiracial main characters discuss their diverse ethnic percentages rather than purity—but also lacking creativity, emotion, and purpose. Elegant and elegiac, brooding but imbued with gallows humor, Shusterman’s dark tale thrusts realistic, likable teens into a surreal situation and raises deep philosophic questions.
A thoughtful and thrilling story of life, death, and meaning. (Science fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4424-7242-6
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 25, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016
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