A New-Age tale of surrendering to God’s will packaged as a Hogwarts-like adventure.
In Cherubim’s debut YA novel, a young, abused girl discovers magic in her life as she inherits wealth and a position at a school for the spiritually gifted.
Mary Baker, who spends hours locked in a closet by her abusive mother, mourns when the kind grandfather she hardly knew dies. When Mary inherits Grandpa Hal’s haunted orchard, as well as his hidden wealth and an important stone, her mother takes the battle to court—and Mary begins a happier life in the custody of her grandfather’s friends, who run the orchard. Just as she adjusts to better circumstances, she is whisked off to the White Light Center, a New-Age school where she learns how to communicate with spirits and surrender to God. The plot’s long buildup means that most of the action—the loss of Grandpa Hal’s precious stone and the attempt to recover it—is crammed into the last half, and Mary’s new friends at the White Light Center are rushed in their character development. The supernatural subplots bear some similarity to the Harry Potter series, but those concerned about witchcraft in Rowling’s tales might appreciate the God-centered focus here (although the magic itself is divorced from religion and dependent on crystals). The magical practice—talking to good spirits, shunning evil ones and consulting the Holy Spirits—may attract readers itching for such adventures. Author Cherubim imaginatively renders key factors in her spiritual system—surrendering to the will of God—throughout the novel, initially in Mary’s first swimming lessons and later as a deus ex avis, when some of Mary’s problems are solved, just as she has given up solving them, by her parrot. While Mary and her friends and family have some depth, the villains—Mary’s wicked mother, an evil sorceress and the wicked Zad—are completely two-dimensional placeholders for bad deeds. Still, young readers may appreciate the world of spirits and strange creatures found at a magic school.
A New-Age tale of surrendering to God’s will packaged as a Hogwarts-like adventure.Pub Date: Feb. 27, 2013
ISBN: 978-1482659696
Page Count: 284
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: July 31, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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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