A sweet, gripping tale about a pair of memorable sisters.
Two sisters face death-defying challenges both in reality and fantasy in this novel.
Recovering from a traumatic brain injury, former athlete Ashlyn Revere struggles emotionally while learning to walk and talk again at a rehabilitation center in this second volume of Edmonds’ Circle saga. Meanwhile, her younger sister, Penny, who has dealt with cystic fibrosis her entire life, finally receives the double-lung transplant she desperately needs. While the sisters wrestle with their medical hardships, they both escape into fantasy. Ashlyn travels to Summervale, the realm where she serves as the Marshal of the Eastern Marshes, aided by her lieutenant, a talking black rabbit. Penny visits 10 years in the future, where she lives in New York City with her young daughter, Jennifer. Unable to help a comatose Penny, whose body is fighting her new lungs in reality, Ashlyn crosses the Hudson from Summervale. Assisted by a reluctant warrior named C.J. Valentine, she invades Manhattan, seeking to rescue Penny from the Dark Lord who rules the borough. In the real world, Ashlyn suffers medical setbacks and falls for a man in rehab only to discover that he’s engaged. Penny ultimately rebuffs Ashlyn’s efforts to save her, unwilling to leave behind her happy fantasy family for medical uncertainty in reality. Edmonds hammers home the central theme of persistence in this thriller. Both Ashlyn and Penny have to overcome multiple complications as the author effectively details the long road they’ve had to travel following their auto accident in A Circle of Firelight(2019). He colorfully tells Ashlyn’s and Penny’s stories, real and fantastic, present and future. He occasionally features the voices of supporting characters, but they soon exit the stage. Compared to the first book, Edmonds’ sequel spends more time in the real world and less in magical Summervale, which is disappointing since he has developed such a vibrant place. Instead, he centers on the Revere sisters carrying on after such a dark period in their lives. In his afterword, the author indicates that this work is likely his last novel. If so, he bids goodbye with a flourish in this enchanting story.
A sweet, gripping tale about a pair of memorable sisters.Pub Date: Dec. 21, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-73404-644-1
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Scary Hippopotamus Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A somewhat fragmentary nocturnal shadows Jim Nightshade and his friend Will Halloway, born just before and just after midnight on the 31st of October, as they walk the thin line between real and imaginary worlds. A carnival (evil) comes to town with its calliope, merry-go-round and mirror maze, and in its distortion, the funeral march is played backwards, their teacher's nephew seems to assume the identity of the carnival's Mr. Cooger. The Illustrated Man (an earlier Bradbury title) doubles as Mr. Dark. comes for the boys and Jim almost does; and there are other spectres in this freakshow of the mind, The Witch, The Dwarf, etc., before faith casts out all these fears which the carnival has exploited... The allusions (the October country, the autumn people, etc.) as well as the concerns of previous books will be familiar to Bradbury's readers as once again this conjurer limns a haunted landscape in an allegory of good and evil. Definitely for all admirers.
Pub Date: June 15, 1962
ISBN: 0380977273
Page Count: 312
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 20, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1962
A truly epic tome that satisfyingly stokes the brilliant blaze kindled by its predecessors.
The war between Spell Walkers and Blood Casters reaches its thrilling conclusion as election day looms.
Tensions between twins-turned-enemies Brighton and Emil—the so-called Infinity Kings—are at an all-time high, and each is following his own ideas of what it means to be a hero. Whereas Brighton wants his powers (and influencer fame) to grow, Emil wants to bind his powers forever and restart his life. Meanwhile, Maribelle seeks a way to revive her late boyfriend while she’s simultaneously developing confusing feelings for Halo Knight Tala. Caught in his own love triangle and vying for Emil’s favor, Ness plots revenge on his political mastermind father. In each of the major plot strands, plans quickly go up in smoke with surprises and deception at every turn—and an astonishingly high body count. Will their alternate New York ever really see peace? This trilogy closer lightly recaps the previous entries while propelling the complex, action-packed plot at a phoenix’s soaring pace. Emotions run high throughout, including sizzling sexual tension that arises even in the most unexpected moments. Although the book is heavy on explanation, Silvera expertly juggles the four alternating first-person narrators while seamlessly tying up all the loose ends. The moral ambiguity of the mostly brown-skinned and/or queer cast makes for fascinating character development, and the magical parallels to contemporary political situations are chilling.
A truly epic tome that satisfyingly stokes the brilliant blaze kindled by its predecessors. (the world of Gleamcraft, dramatis personae) (Fantasy. 12-adult)Pub Date: March 12, 2024
ISBN: 9780062882363
Page Count: 752
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2024
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