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. 18, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
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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. 13, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
Categories: TEENS & YOUNG ADULT ROMANCE | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES
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Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
24
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Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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