Science and mysticism blend smoothly in this second outing, which again offers appealing characters and an action-packed...
A special remote control allows a Greene sister to explore, transform, and rescue in this YA sci-fi/paranormal adventure sequel to Snap to Grid: The Stones of Bothynus Trilogy, Book One (2015).
In Book 1, Sonia “Red” Greene obtains her eccentric Uncle Alistair’s STAG (Snap To Alternate Grid) control, a scientific device with seemingly magical properties made from ancient artifacts. With it, she solves some mysterious disappearances and rescues her uncle, a scientist, as well as Erik Wolfeningen, the attractive graduate student who’s now her boyfriend. Now, in Book 2, her younger sister Anya, called Annie, 15, swipes a STAG control for the summer she’s spending at her grandmother’s farm in Tennessee, hoping for excitement. The control allows her to enter a hidden cave filled with elaborately carved and jeweled sculptures. Their creator, a tall, glowing, “exquisitely enchanting,” half-angelic being named Aaan, is trapped in an ethereal state between reincarnations. Annie awakens new energy in him (“For the first time in many, many years, he found himself interested in something. He felt his limbs begin to gain energy, his whole body awakening. Yes, it was time to awaken again. His curiosity had been piqued”). And he stirs strong feelings in her. Rescue missions in Iraq and Italy then seek to retrieve kidnapped family members, drawing on the STAG control’s several powers and Aaan’s assistance. In Book 2, Reed pleasingly extends her exploration of the STAG control’s properties and shows how it can also be put to practical use during the several stages of the two rescue missions, which are deftly conceived. The author makes room for some thoughtful digressions concerning physics, metaphysics, sin, and forgiveness, with an emphasis on compassion; the main characters’ love and courage, which are genuinely moving, bolster the book’s exploits. Though the dual rescues bear similarities, the differences are sufficient to hold reader interest. And Aaan, with his combination of otherworldly beauty and guilt-induced, broody isolation, makes a perfect love interest for an emotional but inexperienced girl. Some matters are left unresolved, but all is well-prepared for Book 3.
Science and mysticism blend smoothly in this second outing, which again offers appealing characters and an action-packed plot.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Dog Ear Publisher
Review Posted Online: Jan. 23, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A thrilling romance that could use more even pacing.
For the second time in her life, Leo must choose between her family and true love.
Nineteen-year-old Princess Leonie Kolburg’s royal family is bankrupt. In order to salvage the fortune they accrued before humans fled the frozen Earth 170 years ago, Leonie’s father is forcing her to participate in the Valg Season, an elaborate set of matchmaking events held to facilitate the marriages of rich and royal teens. Leo grudgingly joins in even though she has other ideas: She’s invented a water filtration system that, if patented, could provide a steady income—that is if Leo’s calculating Aunt Freja, the Captain of the ship hosting the festivities, stops blocking her at every turn. Just as Leo is about to give up hope, her long-lost love, Elliot, suddenly appears onboard three years after Leo’s family forced her to break off their engagement. Donne (Brightly Burning, 2018) returns to space, this time examining the fascinatingly twisted world of the rich and famous. Leo and her peers are nuanced, deeply felt, and diverse in terms of sexuality but not race, which may be a function of the realities of wealth and power. The plot is fast paced although somewhat uneven: Most of the action resolves in the last quarter of the book, which makes the resolutions to drawn-out conflicts feel rushed.
A thrilling romance that could use more even pacing. (Science fiction. 16-adult)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-328-94894-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
A sparse, beautifully drawn story about a teen discovering her heritage.
In this YA graphic novel, an alienated Métis girl learns about her people’s Canadian history.
Métis teenager Echo Desjardins finds herself living in a home away from her mother, attending a new school, and feeling completely lonely as a result. She daydreams in class and wanders the halls listening to a playlist of her mother’s old CDs. At home, she shuts herself up in her room. But when her history teacher begins to lecture about the Pemmican Wars of early 1800s Saskatchewan, Echo finds herself swept back to that time. She sees the Métis people following the bison with their mobile hunting camp, turning the animals’ meat into pemmican, which they sell to the Northwest Company in order to buy supplies for the winter. Echo meets a young girl named Marie, who introduces Echo to the rhythms of Métis life. She finally understands what her Métis heritage actually means. But the joys are short-lived, as conflicts between the Métis and their rivals in the Hudson Bay Company come to a bloody head. The tragic history of her people will help explain the difficulties of the Métis in Echo’s own time, including those of her mother and the teen herself. Accompanied by dazzling art by Henderson (A Blanket of Butterflies, 2017, etc.) and colorist Yaciuk (Fire Starters, 2016, etc.), this tale is a brilliant bit of time travel. Readers are swept back to 19th-century Saskatchewan as fully as Echo herself. Vermette’s (The Break, 2017, etc.) dialogue is sparse, offering a mostly visual, deeply contemplative juxtaposition of the present and the past. Echo’s eventual encounter with her mother (whose fate has been kept from readers up to that point) offers a powerful moment of connection that is both unexpected and affecting. “Are you…proud to be Métis?” Echo asks her, forcing her mother to admit, sheepishly: “I don’t really know much about it.” With this series opener, the author provides a bit more insight into what that means.
A sparse, beautifully drawn story about a teen discovering her heritage.Pub Date: March 15, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-55379-678-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: HighWater Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 28, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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