Solid and intriguing.
Fourteen-year-old Padmé Naberrie becomes Naboo’s latest elected monarch, and Capt. Quarsh Panaka of the Royal Security Forces prepares for a peaceful transition of power.
Much work awaits the young leader, who hopes to guide her homeworld beyond the isolationist policy of her predecessor. But first, Padmé and Panaka must assemble the queen's handmaidens, a group of five girls who will act as advisers, guards, and decoys for the queen. Against Panaka’s wishes, Padmé tightens the bonds between herself and her handmaidens, particularly with her dearest Saché, to craft a cunning, bold group loyal to Queen Amidala, Padmé’s regal alter ego. As Queen Amidala navigates Naboo’s political sphere, she organizes a summit with neighboring planets to foster and restore alliances. Meanwhile, the villainous Darth Sidious hastens his plans to acquire more power, inciting a brutal invasion of Naboo by the Trade Federation. A prequel to the 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace as well as Johnston’s Queen’s Shadow (2019), this look into Padmé’s ascent both honors its source material and colors in its scope. Johnston builds Padmé into an icon worthy of her reputation while underscoring her strong camaraderie with the handmaidens. Remarkably, readers receive a glimpse of Naboo’s politics as the narrative inevitably unfolds into the events chronicled in the film, though here there are glimpses of the more urgent struggles lurking beneath the latter’s grand heroics. There is diversity in race and sexual orientation.
Solid and intriguing. (Science fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-368-05714-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Disney Lucasfilm
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2020
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
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