A breathlessly exciting and utterly satisfying fairy tale.
An ugly stepsister gets her own story in this twist on “Cinderella.”
The beautiful and kindhearted Ella’s foot fits perfectly into the prince’s glass slipper, leaving her stepsisters, Isabelle and Octavia de la Paumé, with their cruel mother, ostracized in a village that has branded them as cruel after trying to deny Ella her chance at happily-ever-after. But cruelty often masks a broken heart. Eighteenth-century France is no place for bold girls like Isabelle, who is inspired by great warriors, or for unabashedly brilliant girls like Octavia, who admires great mathematicians and scientists. Isabelle is an unwitting pawn in a wager between Chance and Fate to stop a vicious warlord who is cutting a murderous swath through France, but a fairy queen makes her a tantalizing offer. Donnelly’s (Beauty and the Beast: Lost in a Book, 2017, etc.) gorgeous prose doesn’t shy away from the visceral: In the horrifying opening scene, which mirrors the Brothers Grimm original, Isabelle cuts off her own toes and Octavia slices off her heel to fit into the glass slipper, and the final battle scene is a corker. Isabelle’s emotional and triumphant journey of self-realization proves that beauty can be found in so much more than just a pretty face. Chance has dark skin and black hair; other main characters default to white.
A breathlessly exciting and utterly satisfying fairy tale. (Fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: May 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-26846-1
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 19, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
Unequivocally hilarious and delightful.
Valentine’s Day is the new Groundhog Day in Painter’s latest teen romance.
According to Emilie Hornby, “love is for planners,” and she is confident that Josh is the perfect boyfriend: He is well liked, academically gifted, and extremely handsome. So after dating him for three months, she adds “Say ‘I love you’ to Josh!!!!!!!!!!!” to her Valentine’s Day to-do list. But Fate has other plans for Emilie, and she ends up crashing her car into her surly chemistry lab partner Nick’s truck, losing a journalism fellowship due to a clerical error, and catching Josh kissing his beautiful ex in his car. After sleeping over at her grandma’s, Emilie wakes up in her own bedroom and discovers that it is Feb. 14 again. Trapped in a time loop where she repeatedly relives the day’s heartbreaking events, she tries to manipulate things in order to free herself. But tomorrow never seems to come, and she keeps finding her way back to Nick, who is not only annoyingly handsome, but surprisingly charming. Painter plucks readers’ every heartstring, from writing a sweet love story between two teens with very different views on romance to honestly depicting how Emilie’s parents’ messy divorce has impacted her feelings of self-worth. Italicized confessions at the beginnings of various chapters prove there is a playful side to Emilie that is further brought out by Nick, whose constant teasing leads to flirty banter. Main characters are cued as White.
Unequivocally hilarious and delightful. (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5344-7886-2
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022
A refreshing fantasy for readers looking for more friendship and adventure, less romance.
From orphan to assassin-in-training to...savior of the kingdom?
Sirscha is focused on becoming the next queen’s Shadow. Training for the past four years, she has endured grueling trials and humiliations to prove herself among the elite. Less than a month from graduation, however, she intercepts a message that sets off a chain of events that derails her plans. Set on an unexpected path, Sirscha discovers new abilities and finds kinship with the persecuted shamanborn, those with elemental magic whom she once would have hunted down. If she can maintain some control, her powers may be able to help heal the rot in the kingdom, but Sirscha will ultimately question her loyalty to her queen and country. While the story skirts the “orphans of mysterious origins” trope, Sirscha’s path to discovery and acceptance is thoughtful and heartfelt. It is also refreshing to see a character too busy kicking butt to stop for romance. This is not an Asian fantasy per se but a fantastical adventure with some Asian touches, indicated through descriptions of landscape and food. Characters are described with a range of skin tones from deep bronze to gray. Also, it is implied that same-sex marriage is accepted as a given.
A refreshing fantasy for readers looking for more friendship and adventure, less romance. (glossary) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: June 23, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-62414-9245
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Page Street
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2020
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