Energetic and original, this alternative history, fantasy, and mystery mashup with its pair of smart, resourceful, flawed...
For years, Boston’s glittering demimonde sheltered Corinne and Ada, along with other hemopaths, a uniquely afflicted and gifted pariah class; now, with Prohibition looming, their fragile refuge is threatened.
Despite vastly different backgrounds and after a rocky start, the girls are close friends and partners in crime, roommates at the Cast Iron, a nightclub where hemopaths entertain regs (nonhemopath patrons) with transformative illusions that manipulate what others see and feel. Arts—literary, musical, visual, theatrical—are their instruments. Hemopath abilities vary in kind and strength; like their friend Saint, the girls are exceptionally talented. A life-threatening aversion to iron leaves hemopaths vulnerable. Corinne, her condition unknown to her Boston Brahmin family, finds her brother’s forthcoming marriage into the family whose asylum abducts hemopaths for horrific experimentation despicable. Ada’s African-immigrant family was torn apart by her father’s unjust imprisonment. Her mother knows Ada’s a hemopath but disapproves of her job. As laws governing hemopaths tighten, police surveillance and arrests at the clubs increase. Amid growing threats, romances blossom—Ada’s with a performer at a rival club, Corrine’s with the enigmatic reg hired to protect the Cast Iron before the mobster owner disappears—but the novel’s heart is friendship. In Soria’s quick-paced third-person narrative, threats gather and mysteries deepen, failing or succeeding, but the girls’ mutual loyalty and trust never waver.
Energetic and original, this alternative history, fantasy, and mystery mashup with its pair of smart, resourceful, flawed but engaging heroines never disappoints . (Historical fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2192-2
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
A fast-paced dip into the possibility of a world without human emotions.
A teenage girl refuses a medical procedure to remove her heart and her emotions.
June lives in a future in which a reclusive Scientist has pioneered a procedure to remove hearts, thus eliminating all “sadness, anxiety, and anger.” The downside is that it numbs pleasurable feelings, too. Most people around June have had the procedure done; for young people, in part because doing so helps them become more focused and successful. Before long, June is the only one among her peers who still has her heart. When her parents decide it’s time for her to have the procedure so she can become more focused in school, June hatches a plan to pretend to go through with it. She also investigates a way to restore her beloved sister’s heart, joining forces with Max, a classmate who’s also researching the Scientist because he has started to feel again despite having had his heart removed. The pair’s journey is somewhat rushed and improbable, as is the resolution they achieve. However, the story’s message feels relevant and relatable to teens, and the artwork effectively sets the scene, with bursts of color popping throughout an otherwise black-and-white landscape, reflecting the monochromatic, heartless reality of June’s world. There are no ethnic or cultural markers in the text; June has paper-white skin and dark hair, and Max has dark skin and curly black hair.
A fast-paced dip into the possibility of a world without human emotions. (Graphic speculative fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: June 13, 2023
ISBN: 9780063116214
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2026 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.
