by Ellen Jensen Abbott ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2011
Nonetheless, readers who don't mind being bludgeoned with "Tolerance GOOD! Prejudice BAD!" should find this a...
Heavy-handed moralizing weighs down a generic but competent coming-of-age fantasy.
Abisina had thought that the death of the Charach would lead her mother's people, the xenophobic, misogynistic Vranians, to embrace the egalitarian philosophy of Watersmeet, led by her heroic centaur father. But things didn't work out that way: Watersmeet, overwhelmed by refugees, chooses isolation and casts out Abisina and her friends when they protest. Exiled to the south, they find the Vranians suffering from the devastation the war left behind but still no more accepting of dwarves, centaurs and fauns than before. Even worse, Abisina discovers that she has inherited more from her father than his ideals: a legacy that may destroy her sense of self. This title is very much a "middle book," as several subplots are set in motion, but none are really resolved. Convenient revelations provide a hint of back story to the world, but there's not much coherent explanation, nor any nuance to individuals or communities. There is nothing original in the narrative treatment of the magical creatures, who are distinguished mostly by their attitudes towards Abisina: They either adore her uncritically or are bigots and bullies. The overt message of equality wars with the subtext that talent, authority and morality derive from genetic descent rather than actions and beliefs.
Nonetheless, readers who don't mind being bludgeoned with "Tolerance GOOD! Prejudice BAD!" should find this a diverting-enough adventure . (Fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7614-5978-1
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2011
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by Scott Reintgen ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 12, 2017
Fast-moving and intriguing though inconsistent on multiple fronts.
Kids endure rigorous competition aboard a spaceship.
When Babel Communications invites 10 teens to participate in “the most serious space exploration known to mankind,” Emmett signs on. Surely it’s the jackpot: they’ll each receive $50,000 every month for life, and Emmett’s mother will get a kidney transplant, otherwise impossible for poor people. They head through space toward the planet Eden, where they’ll mine a substance called nyxia, “the new black gold.” En route, the corporation forces them into brutal competition with one another—fighting, running through violent virtual reality racecourses, and manipulating nyxia, which can become almost anything. It even forms language-translating facemasks, allowing Emmett, a black boy from Detroit, to communicate with competitors from other countries. Emmett's initial understanding of his own blackness may throw readers off, but a black protagonist in outer space is welcome. Awkward moments in the smattering of black vernacular are rare. Textual descriptions can be scanty; however, copious action and a reality TV atmosphere (the scoreboard shows regularly) make the pace flow. Emmett’s first-person voice is immediate and innocent: he realizes that Babel’s ruthless and coldblooded but doesn’t apply that to his understanding of what’s really going on. Readers will guess more than he does, though most confirmation waits for the next installment—this ends on a cliffhanger.
Fast-moving and intriguing though inconsistent on multiple fronts. (Science fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-55679-1
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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by Sarah Arthur ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 30, 2024
Evocations of Narnia are not enough to salvage this fantasy, which struggles with thin character development.
A portal fantasy survivor story from an established devotional writer.
Fourteen-year-old Eva’s maternal grandmother lives on a grand estate in England; Eva and her academic parents live in New Haven, Connecticut. When she and Mum finally visit Carrick Hall, Eva is alternately resentful at what she’s missed and overjoyed to connect with sometimes aloof Grandmother. Alongside questions of Eva’s family history, the summer is permeated by a greater mystery surrounding the work of fictional children’s fantasy writer A.H.W. Clifton, who wrote a Narnialike series that Eva adores. As it happens, Grandmother was one of several children who entered and ruled Ternival, the world of Clifton’s books; the others perished in 1952, and Grandmother hasn’t recovered. The Narnia influences are strong—Eva’s grandmother is the Susan figure who’s repudiated both magic and God—and the ensuing trauma has created rifts that echo through her relationships with her daughter and granddaughter. An early narrative implication that Eva will visit Ternival to set things right barely materializes in this series opener; meanwhile, the religious parable overwhelms the magic elements as the story winds on. The serviceable plot is weakened by shallow characterization. Little backstory appears other than that which immediately concerns the plot, and Eva tends to respond emotionally as the story requires—resentful when her seething silence is required, immediately trusting toward characters readers need to trust. Major characters are cued white.
Evocations of Narnia are not enough to salvage this fantasy, which struggles with thin character development. (author’s note, map, author Q&A) (Religious fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: Jan. 30, 2024
ISBN: 9780593194454
Page Count: 384
Publisher: WaterBrook
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
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