A fantasy with an intriguing premise that is ultimately more style than substance.
In a world where magic exists through nine elemental affinities, a headstrong princess who has the potential to wield them all seeks to prove her worth.
Ma’s debut introduces readers to 17-year-old Asterin Faelenhart, the Princess of Axaria and one of the few in her world who possess multiple affinities. When she learns that a demon has ravaged villages near the kingdom’s outskirts, Asterin volunteers to find and kill it. She is joined by three trusted companions—her Royal Guardian, Orion; the commander of her Elite Royal Guard, Eadric; and her best friend, Luna—and two soldiers, Rose and Quinlan, whose queen sent them as a gift to Axaria from distant Eradore. On their journey, the group discovers that a greater force of evil than the demon is at work. With the fate of the kingdom at stake, Asterin must confront hidden truths and make an impossible decision. Readers will enjoy the novel’s exciting action sequences and original mythology, but abrupt tone shifts cause the narrative to falter on occasion, and the rather overblown writing style is reminiscent of fan fiction. Flirtation between characters abounds, slightly undermining the gravity of their quest. Loose threads and an unexpected reveal in the epilogue set the stage for a sequel. The majority of characters are white; two secondary characters share a same-sex romance.
A fantasy with an intriguing premise that is ultimately more style than substance. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-982527-44-0
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Blackstone
Review Posted Online: July 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A high-concept premise that falls short in its execution.
A teenage girl finds herself alone after everyone else in her town mysteriously disappears, leaving her scrambling to figure out how to find them all.
One late summer day, everybody in July Fielding’s town disappears. She is left to piece together what happened, following a series of cryptic signs she finds around town urging her to “GET THEM BACK.” The narrative moves back and forth between July’s present and the events of the summer before, when her relationship with her best friend, cross-country team co-captain Sydney, starts to fracture due to a combination of jealousy over July’s new relationship with a cute boy called Sam and sweet up-and-coming freshman Ella’s threatening to overtake Syd’s status as star of the track team. The team members participate in a ritual in which they jump off a cliff into the rocky waters below at the end of their Friday practice runs. Though Ella is reluctant, Syd pressures her to jump. Short, frenetically paced sections move the story along quickly, and there is much foreshadowing pointing to something terrible that occurred at the end of that summer, which may be the key to July’s current predicament, but there is much misdirection too. Ultimately this is a story without enough setup to make the turn the book takes in the end feel fully developed or earned. All characters read white.
A high-concept premise that falls short in its execution. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2023
ISBN: 9780593327173
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
Eden’s emotionally raw narration is compelling despite its solipsism. (Fiction. 14-18)
In the three years following Eden’s brutal rape by her brother’s best friend, Kevin, she descends into anger, isolation, and promiscuity.
Eden’s silence about the assault is cemented by both Kevin’s confident assurance that if she tells anyone, “No one will ever believe you. You know that. No one. Not ever,” and a chillingly believable death threat. For the remainder of Eden’s freshman year, she withdraws from her family and becomes increasingly full of hatred for Kevin and the world she feels failed to protect her. But when a friend mentions that she’s “reinventing” herself, Eden embarks on a hopeful plan to do the same. She begins her sophomore year with new clothes and friendly smiles for her fellow students, which attract the romantic attentions of a kind senior athlete. But, bizarrely, Kevin’s younger sister goes on a smear campaign to label Eden a “totally slutty disgusting whore,” which sends Eden back toward self-destruction. Eden narrates in a tightly focused present tense how she withdraws again from nearly everyone and attempts to find comfort (or at least oblivion) through a series of nearly anonymous sexual encounters. This self-centeredness makes her relationships with other characters feel underdeveloped and even puzzling at times. Absent ethnic and cultural markers, Eden and her family and classmates are likely default white.
Eden’s emotionally raw narration is compelling despite its solipsism. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: March 22, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-4935-9
Page Count: 384
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
