by Hillary Monahan ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 10, 2017
A cathartic revenge fantasy of rape recovery, Quentin Tarantino–style, weakened by the stereotype-laden depiction of Romani...
A Welsh Romani girl faces appalling violence and responds with magic.
Seventeen-year-old Bethan has been raised by her clan’s drabarni, their witch. Her trips into town to sell her grandmother’s magical remedies are plagued by harassment from Silas, the clan chieftain’s son. She’s protected only by Martyn, a young townsman. Like Bethan, Martyn is diddicoy, mixed Romani and white. Unlike her, he’s been raised in a gadjo town and knows nothing about his Welsh Kale heritage. Still, he befriends her and tries to protect her from Silas—which puts him right in the line of fire of Silas’ violence. Silas and his friends beat Martyn nearly to death, then Silas rapes Bethan. The attack brings about Bethan’s nascent magical power, and she enacts revenge with horrific, blood-soaked magic. Though Bethan stresses that Silas and his cronies are exceptions to Romani morality, the only Romani young men depicted participate in rape and attempted murder. And while Gran explains that her magic doesn’t come from Romani blood, the clan’s caravan life is dominated by the drabarni’s dark spells. The result leaves an earnest narrator attempting to depict Romani life as neither criminal nor magical, while the tale itself is about Romani who are at least one or the other.
A cathartic revenge fantasy of rape recovery, Quentin Tarantino–style, weakened by the stereotype-laden depiction of Romani people . (Fantasy/horror. 14-17)Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5247-0186-4
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
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by Alexandra Monir ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 6, 2018
The shelves are already crowded with teens-training-for-space stories; there’s no need to make room for this one.
Teens become astronauts in record time for an inaugural space mission.
After losing his family to “the greatest flood Rome has ever known,” skilled white Italian swimmer Leo Danieli would never have expected that in his darkest moment he would be drafted by the European Space Agency to attend the International Space Training Camp, where teens will train to terraform and colonize Jupiter’s moon Europa for human settlement. California native Naomi Ardalan, a second-generation Iranian-American, has also been chosen for her expertise in science and technology. During a period of violent climate change worldwide, Earth’s governments are desperate to draft teens for a space mission for which they have only a few weeks in which to prepare. Twenty-four teen finalists, many orphaned by cataclysmic natural disasters, have been chosen from all over the world to compete for this space colonization mission. Warnings come to Leo and Naomi that there is a more sinister aspect to this mission, especially after things go tragically awry with other candidates during the training. The relationship that develops between Naomi and Leo feels forced, as if their meeting necessitates speedy deployment of a romantic cliché. The use of predictable plot devices, along with the fundamentally ludicrous premise, undermines any believability that would make a reader invest in such an elaborate space journey.
The shelves are already crowded with teens-training-for-space stories; there’s no need to make room for this one. (Science fiction. 14-17)Pub Date: March 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-265894-4
Page Count: 352
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Nov. 21, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2017
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by Laura Sebastian ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 5, 2019
Packed to the brim with intrigue and the promise of a third installment.
A rebel queen fans the sparks of revolution.
Picking up immediately after the events of Ash Princess (2018), Sebastian’s expansive sequel finds young Queen Theodosia—her title newly reclaimed—fleeing her country and throne. With her people still enslaved, Theo will need allies and an army to free them, and her aunt, the fierce and manipulative pirate Dragonsbane, insists that the only way to acquire either is if Theo marries—something no queen has ever done in Astrea’s history. Wracked by nightmares, guilt, and fear that she is losing herself (and more), Theo balks but, with few options open to her, grudgingly agrees to meet with suitors at a grand invitational hosted by the king of the opulent Sta’Crivero. Readers looking for further immersion and expansion of Theo’s world will not be disappointed here. The narrative suffers marginally from lengthy details picked up and soon put back down with no real service to plot or character development, but Theo’s first-person narration remains enthralling with emotional immediacy as she learns more and more about her world and the people (and cruelty) within it. Vengeance, political corruption, and mystery are the main drivers, and questions of trauma, empathy, and sacrifice hold the reigns as Theo grapples with emergent magic, inconvenient romances, and the crushing weight of her choices as a leader.
Packed to the brim with intrigue and the promise of a third installment. (maps) (Fantasy. 14-17)Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5247-6710-5
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Dec. 18, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019
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