Invested readers may well feel terribly cheated; uninvested readers shouldn’t bother
Back in Elysium, former Daughter of the People Evie and her Surface Dweller sweetie, Gavin, plot revolution.
Their base of operations is the Caverns, where those who didn’t fit Mother’s distinctly Aryan eugenics template have been hiding out, apparently undetected for decades by Mother and her Enforcers. Complicating their movement are the nanos implanted in every Citizen; they accelerate healing but also serve as a terrifying means of physical control and will wipe the memory of anyone who tries to escape. Nano-free Gavin goes to the Surface to seek Lenore, who may be able to thwart the nanos, while Evie stays behind to foment rebellion. The present-tense narration is shared by Evie and Gavin, toggling back and forth in undistinguished, sometimes actively bad prose as each pursues her or his goal. Gavin learns important truths; Evie struggles with her suspect memories and guilt; they both yearn. (Their eventual reunion is embarrassingly purple.) Souders’ sense of setting and her plotting feel as haphazard as Evie fears her revolution to be, and readers may never feel as though they understand exactly how everything works. A radical but foreshadowed twist at the end calls into question the previous 300-some pages—and the two previous books: a clichéd device that does not redeem the trilogy’s flaws.
Invested readers may well feel terribly cheated; uninvested readers shouldn’t bother . (Dystopian romance. 14-18)Pub Date: July 12, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7653-3247-9
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
A charming cozy fantasy about defying expectations and finding love.
The lives of two Los Angeles girls inhabiting different universes intersect, proving that love knows no bounds.
Brenda Nguyen has a 19-step plan to save the world. Kat Woo is haunted by her legacy as the chosen one, a role she has no interest in. Brenda, working on an environmental science college scholarship application, stumbles into Sammy’s Coffee and Pick-Me-Ups, which Kat’s family owns. As the girls get to know each other, Brenda at last finds someone who’ll listen to her detailed plans, while Kat discovers she has something to look forward to. The girls, who alternate narrating the story, must defy the odds as their worlds begin to collide. As well as being a love story, this is an exploration of familial expectations: Kat is trying to outrun them, while Brenda is driven to fulfill hers. The girls, who are of Chinese and Vietnamese descent, respectively, complement each other: Brenda learns to live in the present, and Kat begins to look to the future. While there are pixie swarms and mana surges, the action takes a back seat to characterization. Lee’s fully developed parallel worlds are alike in many ways, although in Kat’s, you can buy teleportation spells at Target. The cast is rounded out by solid portrayals of the girls’ friends and family, who are important to the plot.
A charming cozy fantasy about defying expectations and finding love. (author’s note, recommended reading) (Fantasy romance. 14-18)Pub Date: June 10, 2025
ISBN: 9781250778024
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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