A standard fantasy with substandard development.
A stubborn small-town girl uncovers earth-shattering secrets as she tries to solve a murder.
Following her brother Kieran’s death from the Indigo Death, aka the Blot, an ink-borne plague, 17-year-old Shae and her Ma have lived as outcasts outside dusty, dying Aster. In Montane, only the black-robed, warrior Bards—tax-collectors, magic-users, executioners—from High House may read or write, and stories about or icons of the mythical kingdom of Gondal are forbidden. When a visit from three Bards ends in death, disaster, and a coverup, Shae abandons her only real friend, Fiona, and rejected suitor, Mads, to sneak into the Bards’ stronghold and training academy. Predictability follows, as Shae proves magically powerful, one of the few females with the gift of Telling, and both pawn and pariah. Also unsurprisingly, Shae’s small, personal quest threatens the whole system. Farrow’s first foray into young adult literature has a message, but its foundations are underdeveloped: Lacking specificity and context, Montane is a generic Western pre-industrial setting; the shifts in genre and tone (from pastoral to police procedural to political revolution) are abrupt; the pacing is rushed; and the resolution awaits a sequel. Most characters are white; only a minor villain is explicitly identified as having dark skin.
A standard fantasy with substandard development. (Fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-23590-9
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and...
A deliciously creepy page-turning gem from first-time writer and illustrator Brosgol finds brooding teenager Anya trying to escape the past—both her own and the ghost haunting her.
Anya feels out of place at her preppy private school; embarrassed by her Russian heritage, she has worked hard to lose her accent and to look more like everyone else. After a particularly frustrating morning at the bus stop, Anya storms off, only to accidentally fall down a well. Down in the dark hole, she meets Emily, a ghost who claims to be a murder victim trapped down in the dank abyss for 90 years. With Emily’s help, Anya manages to escape, though once free, she learns that Emily has traveled out with her. At first, Emily seems like the perfect friend; however, once her motives become clear, Anya learns that “perfect” may only be an illusion. A moodily atmospheric spectrum of grays washes over the clean, tidy panels, setting a distinct stage before the first words appear. Brosgol’s tight storytelling invokes the chilling feeling of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (2002), though for a decidedly older set.
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and outward appearance. (Graphic supernatural fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: June 7, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59643-552-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
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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