A paint-by-numbers fantasy rendered in pretty winter colors.
A peasant girl in 11th-century Russia must learn to harness her power over ice.
Katya is ostracized in her village because of her ability to freeze, becoming ice—and when she loses her temper and her power kills someone she loves, she is arrested. Katya fears a death sentence at the hands of the notoriously cruel prince, but she soon learns that he wants to use her magic as a weapon in a coming war. Not only that, but the prince has a special elemental power too, an affinity with fire that provides a foil for Katya’s ice exactly as narrative convenience requires. Katya hits all the chosen-one marks that this genre demands—mysterious and magical parentage, the death of a beloved mentor, learning to accept the power within oneself—and no avid fantasy reader will be surprised by the plot’s turns. All characters are assumed white except for a brief reference to a brown-skinned spring goddess, and the narration conflates fairness with beauty. The writing style is confident and plot-focused, although it veers into a strangely stilted quality in much of the dialogue. Vivid descriptions, especially of luxurious tents and traditional dresses, offer a pleasantly rounded sense of detail.
A paint-by-numbers fantasy rendered in pretty winter colors. (author’s note, glossary) (Historical fantasy. 13-18)Pub Date: April 9, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-266629-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Dec. 17, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
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 lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
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