Melia isn’t the only character who can carry her own series in a mythical tale as appealing as it is impressive.
A half-faerie teenager struggles to stop a malicious entity from destroying both the mortal and enchanted worlds in this YA fantasy.
Life as a half-faerie has never been easy for 18-year-old Melia. She and her sisters, Melusine and Plantine, were born to mortal druid Elynus and full-blooded faerie Pressina. But when Elynus broke the faerie troth by seeing his wife at childbirth, his family had to return to the Realm of Faerie in the enchanted world. The sisters can communicate telepathically, but Melia’s disturbed by her telepathic link to Elynus, which triggers visions of violence and death. The druid’s trying to incarnate Umbra, a sinister consciousness that needs a living vessel and whose emergence can destroy the Whole, encompassing all known realms. Elynus wants to reunite with Pressina but hints to Melia, who visits him in the mortal world, that Umbra will right the “horrible crimes” in Faerie. Melia’s determined to stop her father, but a sudden tragedy rattles her faerie household. At the same time, others hoping for an Umbra incarnation kidnap Plantine (a family secret explains why) and seek a sword and basin that together can lead Umbra to a vessel. Melia and friends, from spring faerie Flora to priest Ryder, set out to save Plantine and thwart Umbra. The tale is practically bursting with characters, all of whom Garrett (Half Mortal, 2015, etc.) skillfully molds into individual personalities. Flora, for one, is reputedly the last of the spring faeries, while 19-year-old Ryder is the same soothing green-eyed stranger from Melia’s visions. There’s an unmistakable villain—Plantine’s abductor, who plans on marrying Melia’s seemingly spellbound baby sister. Quite a few characters, however, are deliciously ambiguous, including Pressina, who dabbles in black magic, and Sevondi, a dragonwitch who may be bad but is also a scorned lover. Other mythical characters crop up, like dwarves and elves, and though the story’s primarily a rescue mission, simply reaching Plantine involves an arduous journey. The indelible ending resolves much of the plot while a lingering uneasiness aptly sets the groundwork for a subsequent volume.
Melia isn’t the only character who can carry her own series in a mythical tale as appealing as it is impressive.Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-9882068-4-7
Page Count: 446
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.
A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.
Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Plum Street Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.
In the ninth book in the Bluford young-adult series, a young Latino man walks away from violence—but at great personal cost.
In a large Southern California city, 16-year-old Martin Luna hangs out on the fringes of gang life. He’s disaffected, fatherless and increasingly drawn into the orbit of the older, rougher Frankie. When a stray bullet kills Martin’s adored 8-year-old brother, Huero, Martin seems to be heading into a life of crime. But Martin’s mother, determined not to lose another son, moves him to another neighborhood—the fictional town of Bluford, where he attends the racially diverse Bluford High. At his new school, the still-grieving Martin quickly makes enemies and gets into trouble. But he also makes friends with a kind English teacher and catches the eye of Vicky, a smart, pretty and outgoing Bluford student. Martin’s first-person narration supplies much of the book’s power. His dialogue is plain, but realistic and believable, and the authors wisely avoid the temptation to lard his speech with dated and potentially embarrassing slang. The author draws a vivid and affecting picture of Martin’s pain and confusion, bringing a tight-lipped teenager to life. In fact, Martin’s character is so well drawn that when he realizes the truth about his friend Frankie, readers won’t feel as if they are watching an after-school special, but as though they are observing the natural progression of Martin’s personal growth. This short novel appears to be aimed at urban teens who don’t often see their neighborhoods portrayed in young-adult fiction, but its sophisticated characters and affecting story will likely have much wider appeal.
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004
ISBN: 978-1591940173
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Townsend Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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