An original concept but with an ending that requires a suspension of disbelief
In Suvada’s high-tech debut, a virus has ravaged the world and one teen holds the key to the cure.
In a world where everyone is embedded with technology at birth that allows them to manipulate their DNA, Catarina Agatta’s dad, Lachlan, is the best gentech coder in the world. Naturally, she has inherited his skills to become a master hacker. At the outbreak of a horrifying virus that causes its victims to combust and those nearby to cannibalize them before they do, Cartaxus, a corrupt organization, forcibly whisks Lachlan away to develop a cure. For two years, Catarina survives on her own, carefully avoiding Cartaxus’ grasp. One day, a Cartaxus soldier, Cole, shows up on her doorstep with the news that her father has died but that he managed to develop a vaccine. The only catch? Cole and Catarina must work together to find, decrypt, and release it to the masses. On their dangerous adventure to save the world, Cat is forced to question everything she thought she knew about her father, Cartaxus, the virus, and even herself. Featuring a strong, tech-savvy protagonist who will stop at nothing to get the job done, the novel explores exciting yet terrifying possibilities. (Race identity in this DNA–fluid future goes mostly undefined, but her surname implies Greek heritage.) While the twists and turns keep readers on their toes, one particular curveball comes so far out of left field it threatens to derail the story.
An original concept but with an ending that requires a suspension of disbelief . (Science fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-9633-9
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
Enticing and original.
Abandoned by her sisters, Io Ora must trust Bianca—former mob queen, now dying wraith—to help her find the hidden gods and end them forever in this duology closer that follows Threads That Bind (2023).
Io and Bianca cross mudflats that harbor deadly chimerini and dodge the violent, unpredictable tides that flood the Wastelands, where humans have struggled to survive ever since the Collapse shattered the moon into three pieces. The youngest of the Moirae-born (sisters with Fates-like powers), Io is able to see the threads governing every human fate in the Quilt. She can end a life simply by cutting another’s life-thread, but the cost is high: Each time, she must sever one of her own 35 threads. As Bianca traverses anarchic wastes and dangerous urban slums ruled by powerful gangs on the way to their destination, the teeming city-nation of Nanzy, she weakens but pushes on. Despite setbacks and betrayals, the two discover unexpected allies willing to risk their lives to confront the gods. Io’s personal evolution, like the Moirae’s silver threads, is woven seamlessly into the complicated plot. While her romance with Edei is satisfying, the story’s emotional driver is the sisters’ difficult history of loss, longing, pain, and betrayal; each bears scars from their old, set-in-stone rivalries. Io’s world has an epic thematic scope and an intricately imagined setting. The characters are diverse in appearance, gender identity, and sexual orientation.
Enticing and original. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: June 18, 2024
ISBN: 9780593528747
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
An ornate and thrilling tale of loyalty and betrayal.
In this work that’s loosely based on Hamlet and the saga of the Boleyn family, a princess becomes entangled in power struggles and travels to a foreign kingdom on a deadly mission.
Princess Madalina Sinet prefers tending to her grave flowers—the magical (and occasionally carnivorous) blossoms that are unique to her kingdom of Radix—over getting drawn into her politically ambitious twin sister Inessa’s plotting and scheming. But after Inessa is sent to Acus, a more powerful neighboring kingdom, as the intended wife of Prince Aeric Capelian, Madalina’s life gets complicated. Inessa’s ghost appears to her, revealing that she’s been poisoned in Acus and asking Madalina to avenge her. Their father, who’s involved in machinations of his own, also has plans for Madalina: He wants her to become Prince Aeric’s replacement bride and then poison him on their wedding night. Madalina has always shied away from the Sinets’ violence and brutality, but she knows she must act in order to save her family and her kingdom—as long as she can avoid falling in love with Aeric. As elaborate and ambitious as the Boleyn family’s own intrigues, this gothic fantasy’s many twists and turns may occasionally leave readers feeling overwhelmed, but the roughly familiar storyline coupled with the fascinating worldbuilding makes this an engrossing read. Madalina and Inessa are cued as being fantasy-world biracial, and the Acusan people have light, sun-bleached hair.
An ornate and thrilling tale of loyalty and betrayal. (author’s note, glossary) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9781682636497
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Peachtree Teen
Review Posted Online: July 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
