A skillfully crafted tale of survival and the power of hope and connection.
A teenage girl and her friend find new companions and encounter unexpected dangers in Taylor’s YA SF sequel.
Charlotte and her friend Anna, Nova Scotian teenagers who lost family members in the ENO.9 worldwide pandemic, are seeking shelter and safety. After Charlotte’s father Glen and older brother Samuel disappeared while on a supply-gathering trip, a man named Dave Steveston appeared at Charlotte’s family homestead. Steveston threatened their lives; the girls escaped from the homestead and began a search for new lodgings and supplies. They find another homestead which appears to be abandoned; however, they soon locate the bodies of 13 people, all victims of the virus. Despite the grim discovery, the girls decide to stay on the property. When a teenage boy named Luke returns to the homestead to discover he’s lost his entire family, the girls find an unlikely but steadfast ally, and Charlotte experiences her first crush. Despite the respite from the dangers caused by the virus, concerns about Charlotte’s father and brother linger for both girls, and Anna decides to return to Charlotte’s homestead to see if they have returned. The simple plan soon becomes a fight for survival when a natural disaster and severe injury put Charlotte and Luke in grave danger. The second installment of Taylor’s The After series improves upon its predecessor by expanding the worldbuilding and deepening the friendship of its main characters. The author moves the primary setting from Charlotte’s homestead to Luke’s, giving Charlotte (and readers) insight into the ways the virus has affected other families. The expanded setting comes with the introduction of an intriguing new character: Luke, a 17-year-old whose tentative romance with Charlotte provides some of the novel’s most poignant moments and demonstrates how love can engender a sense of hope even in the midst of tragedy. The friendship between Anna and Charlotte forms the emotional center of the narrative as a relationship that began as transactional (“I needed you and what you had much more than you needed me, Char”) becomes a sisterly bond.
A skillfully crafted tale of survival and the power of hope and connection.Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2025
ISBN: 9781038329721
Page Count: 198
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: March 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and...
A deliciously creepy page-turning gem from first-time writer and illustrator Brosgol finds brooding teenager Anya trying to escape the past—both her own and the ghost haunting her.
Anya feels out of place at her preppy private school; embarrassed by her Russian heritage, she has worked hard to lose her accent and to look more like everyone else. After a particularly frustrating morning at the bus stop, Anya storms off, only to accidentally fall down a well. Down in the dark hole, she meets Emily, a ghost who claims to be a murder victim trapped down in the dank abyss for 90 years. With Emily’s help, Anya manages to escape, though once free, she learns that Emily has traveled out with her. At first, Emily seems like the perfect friend; however, once her motives become clear, Anya learns that “perfect” may only be an illusion. A moodily atmospheric spectrum of grays washes over the clean, tidy panels, setting a distinct stage before the first words appear. Brosgol’s tight storytelling invokes the chilling feeling of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (2002), though for a decidedly older set.
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and outward appearance. (Graphic supernatural fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: June 7, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59643-552-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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