A captivating and satisfying queer fantasy.
Teenage heroes uncover fae secrets and fight the forces of evil.
Rags is a skilled thief chosen to break into an elaborately guarded fae ruin. Inside, he awakens a handsome, tattooed fae warrior who vows to protect him, and Rags is thrust unwittingly into adventure. Soon the cast expands to an ensemble of six heroes and a diverse supporting cast of friends and foes. The team seeks to assemble the pieces of an ancient fae weapon that look like giant silver animals. They also have to outsmart the evil sorcerer Morien, aid the Resistance against the queen, and discover the terrible secret at the heart of the court. Meanwhile, Rags is trying to figure out his own feelings toward the fae warrior Shining Talon. Jones and Bennett play the hits—magical companion animals, ethereal magic warriors, an evil queen—yet do so with skill, excitement, and a unique aesthetic. This world of court intrigue and immortal fae with skin covered in black tattoos feels at once comfortably familiar and intriguingly new. By the end, readers will be itching for more. Of the heroes, four are White, one is brown-skinned, and one is a fantasy race with golden skin and black hair. One has a disability, not handled with great sensitivity—he is “familiar with curses, having been born one to his mother,” readers are told, and his arm and leg are repeatedly described as “withered”; another is transgender.
A captivating and satisfying queer fantasy. (pronunciation guide) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 10, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-294144-2
Page Count: 544
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A worthy second-chance romance.
In this follow-up to 2021’s Better Than the Movies, a 20-year-old college freshman gets a second chance at his dreams.
After the death of his father and his mother’s subsequent physical and emotional disappearance, Wes Bennett left behind all of his plans and the girl he made them with to go home and take care of Sarah, his younger sister. But now, Sarah has graduated, his mom is back on her feet, and by some miracle, Wes has an offer to pitch for UCLA’s baseball team. Liz Buxbaum, the girl he’s always loved, works for the university’s athletic department, taking photos and video of the team for social media, which means that maybe he can have a second chance at love, too. But since Wes left, Liz has made every effort to protect herself from ever feeling that broken again; there’s no room for love, because she doesn’t believe in it anymore. Or she doesn’t want to. This second-chance sports romance includes fake dates, quippy and quirky best friends, real heartache, and the sweet ache of first love. The clever dialogue keeps readers from drowning in the main characters’ emotional push-and-pull. Reading the first novel isn’t necessary for appreciating this one, although knowing the full history between Wes and Liz will only add to the ache and longing readers feel from and for them. Main characters are cued white.
A worthy second-chance romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781665947138
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
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