A vibrant new story for a classic character.
This original story by bestselling author Elle is inspired by Disney’s 2023 live-action film The Little Mermaid.
Teenage admirers of the plucky sea princess are reunited with Ariel, who’s just turned 15 and is the last in the royal family to assume responsibility as Protector over her sea territory, located on the desirable high-sun side of Carinae. However, her father, King Triton, is overprotective and unsure if the youngest of his seven daughters can take on this important role without the guidance of the late queen. The unexpected, tragic death of the family’s matriarch still looms over the family, resulting in a yearslong fracture among the sisters. But when the family does come together for Ariel’s ceremonial festivities, events are abruptly interrupted when oldest sister Mala is abducted under mysterious and threatening circumstances. With gumption and a natural knack for unifying leadership, Ariel creates unlikely alliances in an attempt to quell discord within the kingdom and find her missing sister before it’s too late. Elle’s story infuses vigor and depth into the beloved and storied Disney franchise and centers a brown-skinned Ariel with auburn locs. The solid writing conveys the resilience and ingenuity of its familiar yet reimagined protagonist. The entertaining action and worldbuilding combine to create a story generations of fans will enjoy.
A vibrant new story for a classic character. (Fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: April 11, 2023
ISBN: 9781368077224
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Disney Press
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2023
A fast-paced dip into the possibility of a world without human emotions.
A teenage girl refuses a medical procedure to remove her heart and her emotions.
June lives in a future in which a reclusive Scientist has pioneered a procedure to remove hearts, thus eliminating all “sadness, anxiety, and anger.” The downside is that it numbs pleasurable feelings, too. Most people around June have had the procedure done; for young people, in part because doing so helps them become more focused and successful. Before long, June is the only one among her peers who still has her heart. When her parents decide it’s time for her to have the procedure so she can become more focused in school, June hatches a plan to pretend to go through with it. She also investigates a way to restore her beloved sister’s heart, joining forces with Max, a classmate who’s also researching the Scientist because he has started to feel again despite having had his heart removed. The pair’s journey is somewhat rushed and improbable, as is the resolution they achieve. However, the story’s message feels relevant and relatable to teens, and the artwork effectively sets the scene, with bursts of color popping throughout an otherwise black-and-white landscape, reflecting the monochromatic, heartless reality of June’s world. There are no ethnic or cultural markers in the text; June has paper-white skin and dark hair, and Max has dark skin and curly black hair.
A fast-paced dip into the possibility of a world without human emotions. (Graphic speculative fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: June 13, 2023
ISBN: 9780063116214
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Part cautionary tale, part juicy love story, this will appeal to action and adventure fans who aren't yet sick of the genre.
A dystopic thriller joins the crowded shelves but doesn't distinguish itself.
Juliette was torn from her home and thrown into an asylum by The Reestablishment, a militaristic regime in control since an environmental catastrophe left society in ruins. Juliette’s journal holds her tortured thoughts in an attempt to repress memories of the horrific act that landed her in a cell. Mysteriously, Juliette’s touch kills. After months of isolation, her captors suddenly give her a cellmate—Adam, a drop-dead gorgeous guy. Adam, it turns out, is immune to her deadly touch. Unfortunately, he’s a soldier under orders from Warner, a power-hungry 19-year-old. But Adam belongs to a resistance movement; he helps Juliette escape to their stronghold, where she finds that she’s not the only one with superhuman abilities. The ending falls flat as the plot devolves into comic-book territory. Fast-paced action scenes convey imminent danger vividly, but there’s little sense of a broader world here. Overreliance on metaphor to express Juliette’s jaw-dropping surprise wears thin: “My mouth is sitting on my kneecaps. My eyebrows are dangling from the ceiling.” For all of her independence and superpowers, Juliette never moves beyond her role as a pawn in someone else’s schemes.
Part cautionary tale, part juicy love story, this will appeal to action and adventure fans who aren't yet sick of the genre. (Science fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-208548-1
Page Count: 352
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
SEEN & HEARD
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