The unbalanced plot stretches too far, over too long.
In this follow-up to Alice in Zombieland (2012), Ali Bell and her friends, fellow hunters of invisible spirit zombies, confront internal threats and endless relationship drama.
Just when Ali’s getting into a comfortable rhythm with her new zombie-fighting life, everything falls apart. Romantically, things are great with her boyfriend, Cole, right up until two out-of-state zombie slayers arrive. One is Cole’s gorgeous ex, and the other, a handsome “he-slut,” shares visions with Ali when he meets her eyes—just like the visions that kick-started Ali and Cole’s romance. Before Ali can figure things out, Cole has already dumped her, leading to pages of misery for everyone involved. Meanwhile, Ali is bitten during a zombie hunt and has a strange reaction, even after being given the antidote. In the mirror, she sees a sinister zombie version of herself that wants to take over, forcing Ali to struggle against her zombie counterpart’s hungers. Additional storylines feature relationship struggles for Ali’s best friends and a spy among the slayers feeding information back to the evil corporation that wishes to use zombies. The slow-paced story is plagued by tension-stealing tropes—the paranormal-romance-sequel formula in which the hero abruptly dumps the heroine and the zombie-movie cliché in which a victim conceals an infection. However, Ali’s female friendships are endearing.
The unbalanced plot stretches too far, over too long. (Horror/paranormal romance. 14-17)Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-373-21077-0
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2013
An undemanding, wish-fulfillment romance.
Another fluffy romance between a girl and a boy-band member, following The Heartbreakers (2015).
Four years ago, after her rebellious older sister, Rose, ran away, Felicity came up with a plan for her future, one designed to make her single mom happy: going to Harvard and becoming a lawyer—just like her absentee dad. It also means working, studying hard, and volunteering as much as she can, leaving little time for enjoying her summer with her best friends, Asha and Boomer. Then, volunteering at a charity ball, she meets the very cute, very reserved Alec, a member of the Heartbreakers. Sparks fly, but right before their first date, Felicity discovers a life-altering secret her mother has been keeping: Rose has been writing Felicity letters since she left. This sends Felicity on a quest to find Rose, accompanied by Alec, Asha, and Boomer. Along the way, she’ll have to come to grips with questions about lies, the truth, and whether her plans for the future will make her happy—can her happiness include Alec? The romance between Felicity and Alec is standard, from the meet-cute to the inevitable misunderstanding. There’s not really anything that elevates the characters or plot beyond the conventional, yet Novak handles it all with a light, deft touch. Save mixed-race Asha, whose mother is Indian and whose father is white, the cast of principals is an all-white one.
An undemanding, wish-fulfillment romance. (Romance. 14-16)Pub Date: July 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-5336-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: April 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A book that aims high but attempts to cover too much territory.
Magic, murder, and mayhem abound in Foody’s debut.
Ever since her father rescued her from enslavement and adopted her when she was 3, 16-year-old Sorina has lived in Gomorrah, a huge, traveling circus-festival. Born without eyes yet magically able to see, Sorina is in charge of the Gomorrah Festival Freak Show. The attraction is full of Sorina’s illusions, semi-independent creations who have become like family: a scaled grandfather, a boneless acrobatic sister, a flaming baby, and more. But when someone begins to systematically murder her illusions, she begins to question the ways her magic can work. Fiercely loyal and protective, she’ll do whatever it takes to safeguard her family—even if it means working with extremely irritating-but-cute Luca, another Gomorrah jynx-worker. As the duo teams up to solve the murders and prevent more, their connection grows from irritation to friendship to attraction. Luca appears to be demisexual, disinclined to build sexual or romantic relationships without an emotional bond, and the couple has welcome conversations about the speed of their relationship and consent. While many characters are coded as white, it is implied that many of Gomorrah’s residents (including Sorina) are racially diverse. The novel clearly attempts to champion the outsider (and arguably does so successfully with demisexuality), but its disruption of our world’s stigmatization of disability is incomplete—both in its inconsistent questioning of “freak” (though Sorina’s arc is one of empowerment) and in Sorina’s disability-erasing magical sight.
A book that aims high but attempts to cover too much territory. (Fantasy. 14-17)Pub Date: July 25, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-373-21243-9
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
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