Satisfying fare for fans of romantic and family dramas.
Paige’s irresponsible behavior results in her being sent away; her road to redemption is paved with emotional minefields.
As the youngest of five kids, Paige feels overlooked. When she finally lives up to family expectations and makes the National Honor Society, her parents don’t attend the ceremony. Hurt, Paige starts vandalizing structures in town. She lets bestie-turned-boyfriend Griffin take the blame when she’s busted, but her parents still send her away from Seattle to her older sister’s home in Texas for the summer, hoping for a change. Despite her resistance, Paige begins to enjoy new activities plus a burgeoning romance with boy-next-door Joey. But worry over her father’s health (he has Crohn’s disease) plus concerning health symptoms of her own threaten to tip her back into self-destruct mode and send her ping-ponging between Griffin and Joey. The reveals about family dynamics are well paced. Paige is filled with pain and lashes out when confronted with additional challenges: Initially self-centered and difficult to like, she ultimately learns to take responsibility and work to resolve relationships rather than blow up. Slowly, her interpretations of events and reactions to them evolve and mature. Grief and heartache are not minimized, but the story shows that a fresh start is possible. Most of the cast is White by default; Joey’s mom is from Brazil.
Satisfying fare for fans of romantic and family dramas. (Fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-73643-003-3
Page Count: 270
Publisher: Sword and Silk Books
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2021
A lushly written story with an intriguing heart.
After praying to a Fate for help, Evangeline discovers the dangerous world of magic.
When her father passes away, Evangeline is left with her cold stepmother and kind but distant stepsister, Marisol. Despite inheriting a steady trust in magic, belief in her late mother’s homeland of the mystical North (where fantastical creatures live), and philosophy of hope for the future, her dreams are dashed when Luc, her love, pledges to marry Marisol instead. Evangeline desperately prays to the Prince of Hearts, a dangerous and fickle Fate famed for his heart that is waiting to be revived by his one true love—and his potentially lethal kisses. The bargain they strike sends her on a dark and magical journey throughout the land. The writing style fluctuates from clever and original to overly verbose and often confusing in its jumble of senses. While the pervasive magic and concept of the Fates as a religious system add interest, other fantasy elements are haphazardly incorporated without enough time devoted to building a cohesive world. However, the themes of love, the power of story, family influence, and holding onto belief are well rounded and add depth. The plot contains welcome surprises, and the large cast piques curiosity; readers will wish more time was spent getting to know them. Evangeline has rose-gold hair and, like other main characters, reads as White; there is diversity among the fantasy races in this world.
A lushly written story with an intriguing heart. (map) (Fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-26839-6
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
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
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