Try Rosemary Clement-Moore’s Spirit and Dust (2013) instead for a more substantial psychic teen
One haunted girl chooses between twin brothers—who inhabit the same body.
Julie’s best friend is her beloved grandmother, Miriam. But when she dies, everything falls apart. Julie’s mom falls into a depression and loses her job and their home. Friendless and lonely, Julie must start her senior year in a new school while living in a terrible Beverly Hills apartment. Everything looks up when she meets Clark, a happy eccentric. Clark, with his wacky hats and his healthy suppers, sustains Julie even as her mother shows the clearest signs of mental breakdown: dressing attractively and dating. Still, what about the devilishly attractive boy who looks just like Clark and kisses like a dream? Could he truly be Clark’s dead twin, Grant? She all too accurately compares her dilemma to preteens at a Twilight premiere; some of her thoughts “were on team Grant and some were on team Clark.” Julie’s quest to solve her boy troubles is tied inextricably to her grief over her grandmother; she must use her latent psychic powers to resolve both. Her quest takes her over a New-Age map of Los Angeles, where a multicultural mishmash of every ethnicity with a spirituality to appropriate teaches her that “maybe a shaman is just someone who understands that life is filled with loss and pain.”
Try Rosemary Clement-Moore’s Spirit and Dust (2013) instead for a more substantial psychic teen . (Paranormal romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-06-200809-1
Page Count: 240
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Jan. 7, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
SEEN & HEARD
Frustratingly slow and lacking in magical wonder.
Despite living her happily-ever-after, Evangeline can’t help but strive to recover her lost memories in this trilogy closer.
Evangeline Fox awakens in the strong arms of Prince Apollo, her apparent husband, who swears to protect her from the evil Lord Jacks, who stole her memories. Unfortunately, Evangeline remembers nothing of her long and complex journey in the Magnificent North or her past romances; only the pain in her heart lets her know something is missing. At Wolf Hall, Evangeline seeks ways to unlock her missing memories, including enlisting the help of a mysterious guard named Archer, even as Apollo’s behavior becomes more and more controlling. The pacing and plot feel stagnant at first, with Evangeline remembering things in flashes and moments of brief feelings, but things finally pick up once her memories return. With the point of view rotating among Evangeline, Apollo, and Jacks, there are few narrative surprises, but it’s intriguing to delve into the minds of an antagonist and a Fate. The story’s inclusion of the legendary Valors and the fantastical fairy-tale setting are unfortunately overshadowed by the love triangle’s dramatic tug-of-war romance. Likewise, the book’s various themes—power, hope, stories, and the nature of humanity—are of interest but handled in an unfocused way. The conclusion, at least, is satisfying, and it hints at future tales set in this world. Evangeline, Jacks, and Archer read white; Apollo has dark hair and olive skin.
Frustratingly slow and lacking in magical wonder. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 24, 2023
ISBN: 9781250851208
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2023
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