A creative, artfully written fantasy that struggles to do too much.
In this trilogy opener, teens work together to save a magical piece of land that’s more important than people realize.
Seventeen-year-old Willow McBane, who’s cued white, never wanted to leave London. When her financially struggling mother moves Willow and her younger brother, Ivo, out to Deepwood Cottage in rural Gloucestershire, where she’ll run a bookshop, Willow finds it difficult to leave behind her friends, her parkour, and the opportunity she was recently offered to work as a movie stunt double. Meanwhile, green-eyed, light brown–skinned Raffian Dunaid is the heir to Emberlyn, a realm that’s losing its elemental energy. When Raff asks Willow and Ivo to help him save a grove of trees near the cottage that connects their realms before the area is destroyed by developers, his plea might just be enough to make a disengaged Willow want to get involved. Chidley’s poetic language and attention to detail pull readers into the world of Deepwood. Beautiful imagery brings the text to life, guiding readers through the narrative, but the novel itself is disorienting, with multiple storylines unfolding in ways that are difficult to follow. The intricacy of the worldbuilding with its political and magical systems can be challenging to track. The characters are interesting, but the size of the cast works against much-needed emotional depth and complexity. Nevertheless, the pacing is good, and the plot points show originality.
A creative, artfully written fantasy that struggles to do too much. (Fantasy. 13-18)Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2026
ISBN: 9781963511642
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Flare Books/Catalyst Press
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: today
BOOK REVIEW
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations.
Magic, mystery, and love intertwine and invite in this newest take on the “enchanted circus” trope.
Sisters raised by their abusive father, a governor of a colonial backwater in a world vaguely reminiscent of the late 18th century, Scarlett and Donatella each long for something more. Scarlett, olive-skinned, dark of hair and attitude, longs for Caraval, the fabled, magical circus helmed by the possibly evil Master Legend Santos, while blonde, sunny Tella finds comfort in drink and the embraces of various men. A slightly awkward start, with inconsistencies of attitude and setting, rapidly smooths out when they, along with handsome “golden-brown” sailor Julian, flee to Caraval on the eve of Scarlett’s arranged marriage. Tella disappears, and Scarlett must navigate a nighttime world of magic to find her. Caraval delights the senses: beautiful and scary, described in luscious prose, this is a show readers will wish they could enter. Dresses can be purchased for secrets or days of life; clocks can become doors; bridges move: this is an inventive and original circus, laced with an edge of horror. A double love story, one sensual romance and the other sisterly loyalty, anchors the plot, but the real star here is Caraval and its secrets.
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-09525-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
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