In the end, readers will be left scratching their heads wondering what actually happened and, worse, whether they even care....
If this novel were a holiday, it would undoubtedly be New Year’s Eve—full of the promise of fun and romance, but a whopping disappointment in the end.
The first book of a planned trilogy begins with 17-year-old Nikki Youngblood running for her life, a pack of hellhounds gnashing at her heels. Luckily, three half-human, half-angel hunks are looking on and rush to her rescue. Though it is unclear why Nikki is the target of such nefarious forces (an issue that is never satisfactorily resolved), the Halflings assume responsibility for her protection and attempt to uncover the truth about dark and mysterious happenings in her Missouri town. Unfortunately, the balance between questions raised and answers given is maddeningly uneven. The narrative is riddled with clichés and clunky descriptions (hair “dancing in waves as if orchestrating a dance,” for example) that weigh the storytelling down. Even a good, old-fashioned love triangle can’t save the story from itself. Bad boy Raven’s lust for Nikki is at least in character, but it is nearly impossible to comprehend how the virtuous Mace could fall so hard, so fast and with so little explanation, especially when it could damn him.
In the end, readers will be left scratching their heads wondering what actually happened and, worse, whether they even care. (Paranormal romance. 13 & up)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0310728184
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Zondervan
Review Posted Online: Dec. 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
A dizzying, intimate romance.
Rowan teams up with her academic nemesis to win a citywide scavenger hunt.
Rowan Roth and Neil McNair have been rivals in a never-ending game of one-upmanship since freshman year. Now, on the last day of senior year, Rowan hopes to best Neil once and for all as valedictorian, then win Howl, a scavenger hunt with a $5,000 cash prize. She also hopes to sneak away to her favorite romance author’s book signing; no one’s ever respected her passion for the genre, not even her children’s book author/illustrator parents. But Rowan’s named salutatorian, and vengeful classmates plot to end her and Neil’s reign. At first their partnership is purely strategic, but as the pair traverse the city, they begin to open up. Rowan learns that Neil is Jewish too and can relate to both significant cultural touchstones and experiences of casual anti-Semitism. As much as Rowan tries to deny it, real feelings begin to bloom. Set against a lovingly evoked Seattle backdrop, Rowan and Neil’s relationship develops in an absorbing slow burn, with clever banter and the delicious tension of first love. Issues of class, anti-Semitism, and sex are discussed frankly. Readers will emerge just as obsessed with this love story as Rowan is with her beloved romance novels. Rowan’s mother is Russian Jewish and Mexican, and her father is American Jewish and presumably White; most other characters are White.
A dizzying, intimate romance. (author’s note) (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: July 28, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-4024-1
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2020
A slow-moving but compelling tale of a queer Jewish boy battling antisemitism and the supernatural.
Young immigrant Alter Rosen lives in Chicago; it’s 1893, and the World’s Fair is in town.
Seventeen-year-old Alter longs to enjoy everything the White City has to offer him, but as a Romanian refugee in the United States, he feels it is his responsibility to earn enough money to bring his mother and his sisters over from Europe. Jewish people in the Russian empire have long been the targets and victims of government-sanctioned violence, and while life in the U.S. is still not ideal for Jews, it’s much safer. So, Alter tries his best to make an honest living and save his money. But when several Jewish boys from the tenements on Maxwell Street, where he has rented a room, end up missing or dead—including Alter’s own roommate and secret crush, Yakov—Alter knows he has to find out the truth about their fates. A highly detailed historical landscape paired with the fantastical element of the dybbuk from ancient Jewish folklore, one of whom possesses Alter, provide a solid base for the book’s leisurely paced and original narrative. Readers will become immersed in Alter’s world, rooting for his survival, hoping for his reunion with his family, and wishing for him to find the love that he deserves. An author’s note and glossary add valuable context. Main characters are White and Jewish.
A slow-moving but compelling tale of a queer Jewish boy battling antisemitism and the supernatural. (Historical thriller. 13-18)Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-335-40250-9
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Review Posted Online: June 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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