Though it lacks the depth of Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart series, the story is at its best when it’s taken as a metafictive...
What happens when a happily-ever-after is no longer guaranteed?
Picoult and van Leer, her co-author daughter, explore the real-life consequences when two star-crossed, teen lovers leave the certainty of the fictive page and give their romance a test run in the real world. In the somewhat cluttered and chaotic sequel to Between the Lines (2012), Oliver, a once-fictional charming prince, and his doppelgänger, Edgar, the lonely teen son of the author of Oliver’s fairy tale, have swapped places. Edgar now resides between the covers of the book, and Oliver is braving three-dimensional high school life with his one true love, Delilah. Not surprisingly, things don’t go quite as planned. The swap has consequences, and as the fictional book attempts to restore order, characters from both worlds suddenly find themselves jumping on and off the pages. Watching Oliver navigate the perils of high school provides some easy laughs, and his romance with Delilah remains fairy-tale sweet, even as his rising popularity complicates things between them. But it’s secondary characters, like Delilah’s tough-as-nails best friend, Jules, who provide the most entertainment. Readers will likely find themselves anxiously awaiting their arrivals in scenes.
Though it lacks the depth of Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart series, the story is at its best when it’s taken as a metafictive exploration of the relationship between a reader and a beloved book. (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: May 19, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-553-53556-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2015
Evocations of Narnia are not enough to salvage this fantasy, which struggles with thin character development.
A portal fantasy survivor story from an established devotional writer.
Fourteen-year-old Eva’s maternal grandmother lives on a grand estate in England; Eva and her academic parents live in New Haven, Connecticut. When she and Mum finally visit Carrick Hall, Eva is alternately resentful at what she’s missed and overjoyed to connect with sometimes aloof Grandmother. Alongside questions of Eva’s family history, the summer is permeated by a greater mystery surrounding the work of fictional children’s fantasy writer A.H.W. Clifton, who wrote a Narnialike series that Eva adores. As it happens, Grandmother was one of several children who entered and ruled Ternival, the world of Clifton’s books; the others perished in 1952, and Grandmother hasn’t recovered. The Narnia influences are strong—Eva’s grandmother is the Susan figure who’s repudiated both magic and God—and the ensuing trauma has created rifts that echo through her relationships with her daughter and granddaughter. An early narrative implication that Eva will visit Ternival to set things right barely materializes in this series opener; meanwhile, the religious parable overwhelms the magic elements as the story winds on. The serviceable plot is weakened by shallow characterization. Little backstory appears other than that which immediately concerns the plot, and Eva tends to respond emotionally as the story requires—resentful when her seething silence is required, immediately trusting toward characters readers need to trust. Major characters are cued white.
Evocations of Narnia are not enough to salvage this fantasy, which struggles with thin character development. (author’s note, map, author Q&A) (Religious fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: Jan. 30, 2024
ISBN: 9780593194454
Page Count: 384
Publisher: WaterBrook
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
This is no didactic near-future warning of present evils, but a cinematic adventure featuring endearing, compelling heroes
A gripping thriller in dystopic future Los Angeles.
Fifteen-year-olds June and Day live completely different lives in the glorious Republic. June is rich and brilliant, the only candidate ever to get a perfect score in the Trials, and is destined for a glowing career in the military. She looks forward to the day when she can join up and fight the Republic’s treacherous enemies east of the Dakotas. Day, on the other hand, is an anonymous street rat, a slum child who failed his own Trial. He's also the Republic's most wanted criminal, prone to stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. When tragedies strike both their families, the two brilliant teens are thrown into direct opposition. In alternating first-person narratives, Day and June experience coming-of-age adventures in the midst of spying, theft and daredevil combat. Their voices are distinct and richly drawn, from Day’s self-deprecating affection for others to June's Holmesian attention to detail. All the flavor of a post-apocalyptic setting—plagues, class warfare, maniacal soldiers—escalates to greater complexity while leaving space for further worldbuilding in the sequel.
This is no didactic near-future warning of present evils, but a cinematic adventure featuring endearing, compelling heroes . (Science fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25675-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: April 8, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
BOOK TO SCREEN
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