A fresh new twist on an enduring myth.
The Greek myth of the Minotaur collides with reality TV in Roberson’s debut.
Every year in Crete, 14 of the strongest and most beautiful young Athenian men and women navigate a maze full of deadly obstacles for a chance to slay the Minotaur for fame and fortune in the wildly popular reality show The Labyrinth Contest. For 10 years, King Minos’ 16-year-old daughter, Ariadne, who narrates, has taken up her ball of silver thread as the Keeper of the Maze: Only she can soothe the Minotaur during his earth-shaking rages. Unlike her glamorous sisters, Acalle and Xenodice, Ariadne shuns parties, social media, and scandal for video games and time with her best friend and showrunner, Icarus. That is, until the handsome Theseus, a prince of Athens, catches Ariadne’s eye. When he asks her to help him win, ending the brutal contest once and for all, she sees a chance to be free and to claim her own destiny. When shocking secrets come to light, her unique bond with the tragic beast at the heart of the maze leaves her with a heartbreaking choice. Roberson largely sticks to the original myth, and its more twisted aspects fit neatly into the cutthroat contemporary reality TV universe, where exploitation is the name of the game and ratings are everything. Icarus is gay, and all characters assume a white default.
A fresh new twist on an enduring myth. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-374-31062-2
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: July 25, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
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
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
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