A gorgeously imagined and wildly exciting historical narrative, combining Arthurian legend with the kingdom of Aksum (Ethiopia). While Wein mines the inexhaustible treasury of Arthur, as she did in her first installment, The Winter Prince (1993), she makes it very new. Goewin, twin sister of Lleu, half-sister to Medraut, and daughter of Artos, high king of Britain, tells the story. After the deaths of her whole family, with Morgause, her father’s sister, calling for her own death, Goewin flees Britain for the court of Aksum in the company of the Aksum ambassador to Britain, Priamos. Her betrothed, Constantine, is Britain’s ambassador to Aksum, as Medraut was before him. Goewin can call Constantine home to Britain to assume the throne; she finds him harsh and unkind, though a good leader. In Aksum, she also finds Telemakos, the child who combines Medraut’s white-gold hair with the copper skin of his mother, and the preternatural calm intelligence of both parents. Constantine treats Priamos with fear, and Goewin uses what power she can wield to protect both him and the child, but not to her desired ends. Readers will eagerly await the next in Wein’s cycle. (maps, glossary, historical note, list of characters) (Historical fiction. 12+)
Pub Date: April 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-670-03618-8
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2003
Necessary, important, honest, loving, and true.
A gut-wrenching look at how addiction affects a family and a town.
Emory Ward, 16, has long been invisible. Everyone in the town of Mill Haven knows her as the rich girl; her workaholic parents see her as their good child. Then Emory and her 17-year-old brother, Joey, are in a car accident in which a girl dies. Joey wasn’t driving, but he had nearly overdosed on heroin. When Joey returns from rehab, his parents make Emory his keeper and try to corral his addictions with a punitive list of rules. Emory rebels in secret, stealing small items and hooking up with hot neighbor Gage, but her drama class and the friends she gradually begins to be honest with help her reach her own truth. Glasgow, who has personal experience with substance abuse, bases this story on the classic play Our Town but with a twist: The characters learn to see and reach out to each other. The cast members, especially Emory and Joey, are exceptionally well drawn in both their struggles and their joys. Joey’s addiction is horrifying and dark, but it doesn’t define who he is. The portrayal of small-town life and its interconnectedness also rings true. Emory’s family is White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast, and an important adult mentor is gay. Glasgow mentions in her author’s note that over 20 million Americans struggle with substance abuse; she includes resources for teens seeking help.
Necessary, important, honest, loving, and true. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-525-70804-9
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
PERSPECTIVES
A story of coming out and coming-of-age in a post–9/11 world.
As an Iranian American Muslim teen, Amir Azadi has long pondered what it would be like to come out to his parents.
In fact, he keeps a mental tally of all the positive and negative comments his parents make about gay people. But everything comes crashing down when school bullies photograph Amir kissing Jackson, the football player he’s been secretly dating. They give Amir an ultimatum: $1,000 in hush money or they will show his parents the photo. On the brink of emotional collapse, Amir runs away, landing in Rome, where he meets Jahan, a proudly gay Iranian/Dominican man, and his eclectic friends. Amir embraces the newfound freedom to be himself and experience the joys of gay culture and community. But as his family desperately searches for him and relationships with his new friends become complicated, he finds himself missing home and feels the fear of being out ebb away. The story moves back and forth in time between these events and the airport interrogation room where, following a family altercation on the plane home, Amir tells his coming-out story to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer. The narrative structure will keep readers riveted as they try to piece together events. Ahmadi’s writing is gripping, taking readers through the myriad emotions a gay Muslim teen experiences growing up in a country whose government is looking for an excuse to demonize Muslims.
A story of coming out and coming-of-age in a post–9/11 world. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-20287-6
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: July 7, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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