Fans of Shadowcry (2011) will find the plot improvements satisfying.
Amid the backlash from the events of Shadowcry (2011), Kate Winters' and Silas Dane's destinies again become intertwined.
As a traitor on the run, Silas finds a new goal and purpose in rumors of activity from another of Albion's old enemies—fellow immortal Dalliah Grey, who caused the council a great deal of trouble hundreds of years ago. But heading across the sea to the Continent to join up with her proves difficult when Silas runs into an old enemy from his soldier days. In a parallel story line, Kate's allies find refuge among the Skilled, but she finds imprisonment. In learning why they are so resistant to her, she learns more about Wintercraft and how dangerous her bloodline is. Late in the novel, both story lines finally come together when powerful magic jeopardizes the veil between the living and the dead. Kate's story explores more of the history of Albion, the Skilled and the bonemen. By contrast, the Continental setting is underutilized and under-explored, lacking sufficient differentiation from Albion. The characters that inhabit it—such as Silas' rival and foil Bandermain, the elite Blackwatch he commands and the enigmatic Dalliah—make up for the Continent's lack of personality by providing the ambiguity that made Silas so interesting in the first installment.
Fans of Shadowcry (2011) will find the plot improvements satisfying. (Fantasy. 10-15)Pub Date: June 26, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-06-202644-6
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: April 3, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An appealing heroine, zippy prose and a preposterous plot make entertainment for young teens. Jade, nearly 14 and a bit on the chunky side, finally experiences her first period—but also discovers that she’s part mermaid when she gets too comfy in her bath. Dad knew that Jade’s mom was a mermaid, and no one understands how Mom could have drowned last year—until Jade discovers that she is being held hostage by an evil mer-couple in the local lake. Boudreau’s characterizations ring nicely true, as Jade juggles her fight to free her mom with her own friendships and the unlikely interest of a popular, handsome boy. A nice sprinkling of wry humor keeps spirits up, but even for a fantasy, the plot conjures the term “eye rolling.” A good fantasy makes readers believe; this one has enough dei ex machinae to populate Mount Olympus. However, the author keeps suspense high and her prose moving while tapping straight into young teens’ angst about friends, enemies and boys. A talented writer aims too low but nevertheless produces light fun. (Fantasy. 10-14)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4022-4412-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Nov. 1, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Cecily Perryn, 13, a lowly poultry girl in 1596 England, discovers a jeweled pendant enclosing a woman’s portrait in the Earl of Montacute’s hencoops. Her strange find is quickly eclipsed by other matters: Young boys, including her friend William, have been disappearing. Seeking William, Cess makes her way to the town of Yeovil, where Jasper, the innkeeper’s son, becomes her reluctant helper. Their search uncovers a plot against Queen Elizabeth I, soon to visit Montacute House. Meanwhile, Cess attracts unwanted attention from the Earl’s sinister son after her cousin fabricates a story that Cess practices witchcraft—truer than she knows. Cess’ friend, the healer Edith Mildmay, falsely accused of bringing plague and exiled, is a witch, though of a benign Druid-esque variety, and initiates Cess into their practices. A rich portrait of rural life in Elizabethan times emerges—convincingly detailed and seamlessly woven into the narrative fabric—as readers uncover the intertwined secrets of pendant, plot and plague. While Cess’ mundane world is entirely believable and always interesting, the witchcraft, with its generically contemporary, New Age feel, is less persuasive. It’s only when we lose the witches that the story comes to life. (Historical fantasy. 10-14)
Pub Date: April 19, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4231-3843-3
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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