A well-crafted novel hampered by a reliance on troubling stereotypes.
A teenage girl does battle with a demon from the spirit realm in LeDuc’s (Cursed Presence,2015, etc.) YA adventure.
As a Caucasian foundling growing up on a Cree reservation in Florida, Pamoon has always been different from those around her. But on her 16th birthday, she learns just how different she really is. An ancient ritual gone terribly wrong has unleashed a violent demon into the world, and Pamoon is the only one who can force him back into the spirit realm from whence he came. Like any teenager would, she reacts to the news of her destiny with a mix of confusion, fear, and defiance. But as she journeys to the Spirit Cave to learn how to defeat the kanontsistonties (a winged, flying skull from Iroquois mythology) and save the souls of her kidnapped friends, she comes to accept her role. In this first entry in a planned series, LeDuc creates a strong, compelling heroine and action-packed sequences that will keep readers turning pages. The opening scene, in which a group of drunk, teenage boys inadvertently summon the demon, is the stuff of classic horror, while dramatic fight sequences raise the tension effectively. There’s even a budding romance between Pamoon and an exiled young warrior. Unfortunately, the book relies on a jumble of generic signifiers of Native American culture that seem to have been drawn more from old Hollywood movies than any single group’s unique traditions: characters dress in buckskin and wear turquoise, are referred to as a “young brave,” shoot bows and arrows, and throw tomahawks. The story is set in Florida, but confusingly, the Native American characters are described as Cree, a nation with no historic connection to the state. Pamoon herself falls squarely into white-savior territory; she’s said to be the “girl as white as the winter snow” who, according to legend, “would one day come and save us all.” Still, this is a creatively told supernatural thriller from a talented writer; the settings are vivid, especially in LeDuc’s vision of the spirit world.
A well-crafted novel hampered by a reliance on troubling stereotypes.Pub Date: Oct. 21, 2017
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 351
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Sept. 6, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A troubling depiction of an unhealthy relationship.
A battered girl and an injured rugby star spark up an ill-advised romance at an Irish secondary school.
Beautiful, waiflike, 15-year-old Shannon has lived her entire life in Ballylaggin. Alternately bullied at school and beaten by her ne’er-do-well father, she’s hopeful for a fresh start at Tommen, a private school. Seventeen-year-old Johnny, who has a hair-trigger temper and a severe groin injury, is used to Dublin’s elite-level rugby but, since his family’s move to County Cork, is now stuck captaining Tommen’s middling team. When Johnny angrily kicks a ball and knocks Shannon unconscious (“a soft female groan came from her lips”), a tentative relationship is born. As the two grow closer, Johnny’s past and Shannon’s present become serious obstacles to their budding love, threatening Shannon’s safety. Shannon’s portrayal feels infantilized (“I looked down at the tiny little female under my arm”), while Johnny comes across as borderline obsessive (“I knew I shouldn’t be touching her, but how the hell could I not?”). Uneven pacing and choppy sentences lead to a sudden climax and an unsatisfyingly abrupt ending. Repetitive descriptions, abundant and misogynistic dialogue (Johnny, to his best friend: “who’s the bitch with a vagina now?”), and graphic violence also weigh down this lengthy tome (considerably trimmed down from its original, self-published length). The cast of lively, well-developed supporting characters, especially Johnny’s best friend and Shannon’s protective older brother, is a bright spot. Major characters read white.
A troubling depiction of an unhealthy relationship. (author’s note, pronunciations, glossary, song moments, playlists) (Romance. 16-18)Pub Date: Nov. 28, 2023
ISBN: 9781728299945
Page Count: 626
Publisher: Bloom Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
Plenty of heat but not enough substance to keep the fire burning.
A romantically entangled stepbrother and stepsister in Los Angeles navigate their tumultuous history and take their relationship to new levels in this translated title by an Argentinian author.
Nick and Noah are madly in love: Their mutual attraction is established as the book opens with Noah’s 18th birthday party, during which she and Nick have an explicitly described sexual encounter behind the pool house. This fiery scene sets the stage for twists and turns in the lovers’ journey, including a separation when Noah is forced to go on a monthlong mother-daughter European tour. But reminders of their pasts (chronicled in the 2023 series opener, My Fault) threaten to undermine their stability. Nick’s wealthy estranged mother makes an unfortunate appearance, while Noah is haunted by the trauma of her father’s violent death. The blend of everyday complications (jealousy, parental disapproval) with frothy visions of high-society life is at once lacking in subtlety and intimately irresistible. The series initially gained popularity on Wattpad, and the novel follows the episodic structure typical of works on that site; sensual encounters occur at reliable intervals. Still, the characters and their milieu feel formulaic, and the writing is stilted. The differences between the two—Nick is five years older and has an office job; Noah has just finished high school—makes their suffocatingly possessive relationship feel particularly squirm-worthy. Nick and Noah and their families read white.
Plenty of heat but not enough substance to keep the fire burning. (Romance. 16-18)Pub Date: Dec. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781728290768
Page Count: 450
Publisher: Bloom Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2023
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