Satisfyingly packed with emotional insights, epic magic duels, and twisty intrigue.
Adraa and Jatin struggle to defend their people amid growing danger and mistrust.
Adraa, the heir to Belwar, is a gifted witch, an innovator, an Underground cage caster, and the heroic, masked Red Woman. Now, she is also either the savior of her people or the monster who tried to kill them all. On trial for causing the deadly eruption of Mount Gandhak, Adraa is framed as a villain, and her people lose faith in her as heir and in her family as rulers. Imprisoned in the impregnable Dome, Adraa struggles to hold on to her secrets and feelings of self-worth despite being plagued by insecurity and guilt. Jatin, heir to Naupure and the secret vigilante Night, gathers his friends and plans to free his love, Adraa, by any means necessary. In this action-packed sequel, familiar characters reappear and past plot threads weave seamlessly together as the fates of both kingdoms hang in the balance. While the villains are slightly one-dimensional, the treatments of topics such as guilt, secrets, grief, and the impact of drug use and abuse are intricate and well analyzed. They are balanced, often with humor, by themes of love, friendship, family, and community. Similarly, inequities between the Touched magic users and the Untouched, who cannot use magic, continue to be questioned. The story is set in a reimagined fantasy version of India, in which different kingdoms vary culturally and physically.
Satisfyingly packed with emotional insights, epic magic duels, and twisty intrigue. (Fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-12425-3
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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
Exactly what the title promises.
A grieving teen’s devotion to romance films might ruin her chances at actual romance.
Liz Buxbaum has always adored rom-coms, not least for helping her still feel close to her screenwriter mother, who died when she was little. Liz hopes that her senior year might turn into a real-life romantic fantasy, as an old crush has moved back to town, cuter and nicer than ever. Surely she can get Michael to ask her to prom. If only Wes, the annoying boy next door, would help her with her scheming! This charming, fluffy concoction manages to pack into one goofy plot every conceivable trope, from fake dating to the makeover to the big misunderstanding. Creative, quirky, daydreaming Liz is just shy of an annoying stereotype, saved by a dry wit and unresolved grief and anger. Wes makes for a delightful bad boy with a good heart, and supporting characters—including a sassy best friend, a perfect popular rival, even a (not really) evil stepmother—all get the opportunity to transcend their roles. The only villain here is Liz’s lovelorn imagination, provoking her into foolish lies that cause actual hurt feelings; but she is sufficiently self-aware to make amends just in time for the most important trope of all: a blissfully happy ending. All characters seem to be White by default.
Exactly what the title promises. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6762-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
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