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JANE DOE AND THE CRADLE OF ALL WORLDS

From the Jane Doe Chronicles series , Vol. 1

Poorly constructed but also a breathless, fun crawl through a maze of twisty passages

A tormented, snarky girl quests through a magical house full of traps in this series opener.

Ever since Jane Doe appeared in Bluehaven on the Night of All Catastrophes 14 years ago, a babe in the arms of her nonresponsive father, the villagers have called her the Cursed One. Jane, they are sure, brought the earthquakes that plague them and somehow closed off the Manor that once offered gateways to the Otherworlds. On the annual holiday during which Jane and her father are burned in effigy by the townsfolk, Jane is rescued from a near murder only to be thrust through a secret Manor entrance on a quest to save all the worlds. The Manor’s filled with corpses, gas mask–bedecked soldiers, and B-movie traps. With the help of a few potential allies—or are they enemies?—Jane (who, along with every other character, has no obvious racial identity) hopes to find her newly vanished father. Lachlan’s worldbuilding is utterly incoherent, with a blend of technology levels, idioms, and foods that make no sense together, and he makes liberal, casual use of ethnic and disability tropes. Still, for those readers who want a video game–style race against time (if Jane doesn’t press the right glyph on the floor tiles, or duck the giant swinging axe, or escape baddies on top of a rushing train, she will die gruesomely), there’s plenty of bloody, fast-paced adventuring. A romance between Jane and a female friend seems likely to spark in Volume 2.

Poorly constructed but also a breathless, fun crawl through a maze of twisty passages (. (Fantasy. 13-15)

Pub Date: May 7, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-5415-3921-1

Page Count: 372

Publisher: Carolrhoda

Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019

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MAGONIA

From the Magonia series , Vol. 1

Striking an uneven balance between gorgeous realism and banal fantasy, this requires readers tolerant of books with split...

A girl with a rare fatal disease discovers a magical secret about herself.

Aza Ray Boyle, nearly 16, is sentenced to death by a breathing disorder medical science calls Azaray syndrome (though Aza herself thinks it should be called "Clive" or maybe "the Jackass"). Somehow she keeps surviving: hating the hospital, snarking at her teachers, loving her batty family, and completely relying on her anti-social best friend, Jason. When the worst happens, Aza's shocked at how unprepared she really is. She's even less prepared to wake up on an airship, surrounded by blue-skinned sailors and giant bird people who call her Aza Ray Quel. Aza, it seems, is the lost savior of the sky people of Magonia, stolen away and hidden on land. Politicking and conspiracies confuse Aza (and set up a sequel). She really ought to relish being special as she masters her newfound powers of singing and working with a bird familiar (shaky worldbuilding leaves the magical structure somewhat hand-wavy). The painful, sarcastic beauty of Aza's interactions down below in the everyday world begs comparisons to John Green's The Fault in Our Stars (2012), yet passive savior Aza of Magonia is a pale shadow of her nonmagical self.

Striking an uneven balance between gorgeous realism and banal fantasy, this requires readers tolerant of books with split personalities . (Fantasy. 13-15)

Pub Date: April 28, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-06-232052-0

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015

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ZEROES

From the Zeroes series , Vol. 1

In this series opener by three acclaimed authors, intriguing protagonists and cinematic powers will surely please adventure...

A sextet of mutant superhero teenagers just want to be safe in this weighty tome.

Last summer, Ethan had so antagonized his fellow Zeroes that their friendship ended. Now his own carelessness has made him a material witness in a bank robbery, and only the Zeroes can rescue him. Ethan, you see, has a secret power: “the voice.” The voice knows more than Ethan himself ever could and uses Ethan’s mouth to tell people what they need to hear in order to get Ethan out of the frying pan—though there's often a nearby fire. The other Zeroes have equally strange abilities, including Nigerian-American Chizara's ability to crash the myriad technological gadgets that cause her chronic pain; rich, Latino Nate's "Glorious Leader" charisma; and blind, white Riley's (overdone and too-obvious) extraordinary vision. The teens undergo no particular quest; the story’s driving force is the desire to escape drug-dealing mobsters. Given the fizz superhero teens could contribute to any narrative, this tome is oddly weighty in both tone and heft. These solidly characterized 16- and 17-year-olds all have younger siblings who seem quirky enough for sequel-bait; hopefully they won't become more noise in the already-crowded premise.

In this series opener by three acclaimed authors, intriguing protagonists and cinematic powers will surely please adventure fans who don't mind an ensemble developed at the expense of the individual . (Science fiction. 13-15)

Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-4814-4336-4

Page Count: 560

Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: June 5, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2015

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