Commentary on discrimination wrapped in an imaginative high-fantasy quest and political intrigue.
A perilous quest takes place amid persecution in this fantasy duology opener.
As shifters, Rora and her brother, Helos, can take three animal forms and countless human guises. Although Rora serves the crown of Telyan, the queen’s tragic death, a dire prophecy, and growing resentment toward magical people—shifters, whisperers, and forest walkers—leave the siblings feeling unwelcome. Having fled the massacre in Caela Ridge and scrabbled for survival in the magical Vale, both crave a real home. But the continent’s magic is restless, and even as humans persecute the forestborn, a magical sickness known as the Fallow Throes infects humans alone. When Finley, a beloved friend, falls ill, Rora, Helos, and Finley’s uptight brother, Prince Weslyn, embark on a quest into the wild lands seeking a cure. Increasing the stakes, the trio must also evade the attention of Eradain’s genocidal King Jol and stop the world from experiencing another Rupturing. Passing through perilous, enchanted lands with predatory plants and monstrous and magical beasts, Rora also grapples with her traumatic past. The trio’s emotional journeys are equally fraught, replete with self-recrimination, romantic woes, and complicated family dynamics. Debut author Becker offers an inventive panoply of beasts and botanicals, painting a phantasmagorical landscape. As shape-shifters, Rora and Helos can change into any human they've met before, but their default forms have olive skin; other characters have a range of skin tones.
Commentary on discrimination wrapped in an imaginative high-fantasy quest and political intrigue. (map) (Fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: Aug. 31, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-75216-1
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Tor Teen
Review Posted Online: June 10, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2021
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
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