Fantasy references galore should ensure that readers who enjoy fantasy—and Arthurian legend in particular—come away...
A King Arthur–based fantasy set in modern-day Canada.
High school student and inveterate reader of fantasy Ariane Forsythe is haunted by her mother’s supposed descent into insanity, which preceded her disappearance two and a half years ago. Only recently out of foster care (now in the care of her aunt, who was previously too sick to care for her niece), Ariane is used to bullies, and these find her almost as soon as she has started her new school. Through a magical encounter with the Lady of the Lake, Ariane discovers she is the Lady’s heir, accepting the Lady’s power and a quest to retrieve the shattered shards of Excalibur before Merlin—still alive and the story’s villain—can. Aiding Ariane is her schoolmate, the endearingly geeky Wally Knight. Together they use Ariane’s new powers to seek the shards and face Merlin, readying themselves for the sequel. The fantastic elements work better than the realistic ones. Readers will be struck at the way the girls who prey on Ariane vacillate between laughable immaturity and more plausible tactics, such as force-stripping Ariane with the intention of texting her picture to their schoolmates. Nevertheless, though it’s not fast-paced, it’s a tight story (all the details make sense), and characters exhibit honest emotions.
Fantasy references galore should ensure that readers who enjoy fantasy—and Arthurian legend in particular—come away satisfied. (Fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: May 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-55050-580-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Coteau Books
Review Posted Online: March 21, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
Dark, seductive, but over-the-top: Characters and book alike will enthrall those who choose to play.
Garber returns to the world of bestseller Caraval (2017), this time with the focus on younger, more daring sister Donatella.
Valenda, capital of the empire, is host to the second of Legend’s magical games in a single year, and while Scarlett doesn’t want to play again, blonde Tella is eager for a chance to prove herself. She is haunted by the memory of her death in the last game and by the cursed Deck of Destiny she used as a child which foretold her loveless future. Garber has changed many of the rules of her expanding world, which now appears to be infused with magic and evil Fates. Despite a weak plot and ultraviolet prose (“He tasted like exquisite nightmares and stolen dreams, like the wings of fallen angels, and bottles of fresh moonlight.”), this is a tour de force of imagination. Themes of love, betrayal, and the price of magic (and desire) swirl like Caraval’s enchantments, and Dante’s sensuous kisses will thrill readers as much as they do Tella. The convoluted machinations of the Prince of Hearts (one of the Fates), Legend, and even the empress serve as the impetus for Tella’s story and set up future volumes which promise to go bigger. With descriptions focusing primarily on clothing, characters’ ethnicities are often indeterminate.
Dark, seductive, but over-the-top: Characters and book alike will enthrall those who choose to play. (glossary) (Fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: May 29, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-250-09531-2
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel,...
Adventure drags our heroine all over the map of fantasyland while giving her the opportunity to use her smarts.
Elisa—Princess Lucero-Elisa de Riqueza of Orovalle—has been chosen for Service since the day she was born, when a beam of holy light put a Godstone in her navel. She's a devout reader of holy books and is well-versed in the military strategy text Belleza Guerra, but she has been kept in ignorance of world affairs. With no warning, this fat, self-loathing princess is married off to a distant king and is embroiled in political and spiritual intrigue. War is coming, and perhaps only Elisa's Godstone—and knowledge from the Belleza Guerra—can save them. Elisa uses her untried strategic knowledge to always-good effect. With a character so smart that she doesn't have much to learn, body size is stereotypically substituted for character development. Elisa’s "mountainous" body shrivels away when she spends a month on forced march eating rat, and thus she is a better person. Still, it's wonderfully refreshing to see a heroine using her brain to win a war rather than strapping on a sword and charging into battle.
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel, reminiscent of Naomi Kritzer's Fires of the Faithful (2002), keeps this entry fresh. (Fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-202648-4
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
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