Enjoyable festive fare.
In Christmas, Pennsylvania, the holiday season is a riot of overblown consumerism—and the efforts of a group of disillusioned teens to expose its true origins lead them to unleash forces of evil.
Ever since brown-skinned Jake’s dad died, Christmas has been his “own personal waking nightmare”—which is tricky, since his family owns Valverde Evergreens, a Christmas tree farm. With the help of friends Abe (who’s Jewish) and Wyn (who has dark brown skin), he’s determined to prove that the truth of Christmas is, as Wyn informs him, “much darker than the mainstream media wants you to believe.” Drawn to an old box in the Midwinter Monster Museum that whispers an ominous plea only he can hear (“Use the knife. Set us free”), Jake accidentally releases the trapped spirits of the witch-queen Perchta and her “strange, monstrous Yuletide beasts” who feed on humanity’s fear, anger, and pain and seek to vanquish the light of the warrior-mage the Yulefather. This quippy, energetically illustrated story includes Yule lore from various European cultures, including Iceland’s Yule Cat, Jólakötturinn, and the Welsh Gray Mare, Mari Lwyd. This lighthearted series opener will appeal to readers looking for fast-paced, not-too-scary thrills. The work is elevated by the skillful, beautifully colored artwork, which makes strong use of light and shadow and expresses the emotions of the wide-eyed human characters and the panoply of Yuletide creatures.
Enjoyable festive fare. (cover gallery, behind the scenes) (Graphic fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
ISBN: 9798894883205
Page Count: 120
Publisher: Oni Press
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2026
Dark, seductive, but over-the-top: Characters and book alike will enthrall those who choose to play.
Garber returns to the world of bestseller Caraval (2017), this time with the focus on younger, more daring sister Donatella.
Valenda, capital of the empire, is host to the second of Legend’s magical games in a single year, and while Scarlett doesn’t want to play again, blonde Tella is eager for a chance to prove herself. She is haunted by the memory of her death in the last game and by the cursed Deck of Destiny she used as a child which foretold her loveless future. Garber has changed many of the rules of her expanding world, which now appears to be infused with magic and evil Fates. Despite a weak plot and ultraviolet prose (“He tasted like exquisite nightmares and stolen dreams, like the wings of fallen angels, and bottles of fresh moonlight.”), this is a tour de force of imagination. Themes of love, betrayal, and the price of magic (and desire) swirl like Caraval’s enchantments, and Dante’s sensuous kisses will thrill readers as much as they do Tella. The convoluted machinations of the Prince of Hearts (one of the Fates), Legend, and even the empress serve as the impetus for Tella’s story and set up future volumes which promise to go bigger. With descriptions focusing primarily on clothing, characters’ ethnicities are often indeterminate.
Dark, seductive, but over-the-top: Characters and book alike will enthrall those who choose to play. (glossary) (Fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: May 29, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-250-09531-2
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Reminiscent of fairy tales and full of enchantment.
In this sequel to the 2022 series opener, Long Live the Pumpkin Queen by Shea Ernshaw, Sally must mend time itself.
It’s been a year since Sally married Jack Skellington and discovered her Dream Town origins, and she’s spread thin between performing her duties as Pumpkin Queen and managing relations among all the holiday realms. Arguments and misunderstandings have arisen between visitors and residents of each realm, so Sally proposes hosting cultural exhibitions to help smooth over their interactions, starting with one in Halloween Town. To help with the extra work, Sally takes on an apprentice—fellow rag doll Luna, a teen with dreams of going on adventures instead of following in the family business of writing bedtime stories. Chaos ensues during the festivities when a swapped potion ingredient opens a portal that sucks Sally and Luna into Time Town. Even worse, Halloween Town’s magical clock has been destroyed by a shadowy enemy, setting the realm’s timeline to the distant past. To get back to the Halloween Town of her present, Sally embarks on an adventure with Luna and their new friend, a dragon called Scorch. Sally, Luna, and Scorch make a fantastic trio, with Sally’s maturity and bravery contrasting with Luna’s wide-eyed youthfulness and Scorch’s desire to become a hero. Despite a slow start and stereotypical elements in some of the towns, the engaging lore and tense, thrilling race to fix time will engage readers.
Reminiscent of fairy tales and full of enchantment. (Fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: July 8, 2025
ISBN: 9781368089302
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Disney/Random House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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