Another exuberant entry that explores the Inland world.
This fourth installment of a YA fantasy-adventure series transports a resolute hero back to a magical realm.
Picking up where the third book left off, this volume opens with the protagonist, Dan Hillman, just after he arrives in Inland, this time with his friends Josh and Alice (who is new to this fairyland). To save his changeling girlfriend, Maggie, from the sinister sorceress Sister, Dan had interfered with Sister’s gate to Inland, sending her to that world’s version of South America. Now the trio has followed her to prevent Sister from using Maggie’s “truename” against her. Dan is no stranger to Inland, but this is his first time in South America, which is populated not by European-style hobgoblins and fairies, but by Andean muki, with their backward feet, and Condor People. Though this is new territory for Dan, he has mystical friends to call on even here, from the healer Auki to the Gatekeeper Crackerbones, and a special power of “threeness” from traveling to the area with his two close friends. And he’ll need the help, because this escapade sees him trekking from the jungles of South America to the fairy Marrowland, where Dan and Maggie will have to confront not only Sister, but also the changeling’s family history. Rosegrant’s (Rattleman, 2016, etc.) latest novel in his series widens the worldbuilding of Inland, taking the reader to new places, examining the Old Ways of the fairies, and painting in the history of Maggie and Sister, the human who had been swapped for the changeling. There’s plenty of action in this tale and also a measured amount of YA reflection: when things go wrong, Dan sinks into a bad mood, but even when his plans work out, he feels melancholic and wonders why. But Dan and his friends aren’t mopey: they keep a sense of humor throughout (“Hashtag WowBlameTheVictim,” says Alice about how the fairies treat Maggie). And the fact that Dan is a fantasy fan makes him easy to identify with—he offers the same comparisons to Tolkien that the reader is tempted to supply.
Another exuberant entry that explores the Inland world.Pub Date: April 6, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5429-0865-8
Page Count: 314
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: June 6, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Well-drawn characters and playful twists keep this thriller fully charged.
This YA SF novel features a teen who must halt a virus that will kill two-thirds of humanity.
In Silver Oak, Maryland, Alice Sherman is a high school junior enjoying lunch near her campus basketball court. With her is Archie, her brother, a senior and science prodigy who likes equations more than his fellow students. Alice has been Archie’s one true friend since their mother left six years ago. Alice is about to catch up with Lalana Bunyasarn, her best friend, when a sudden “streak of electricity zaps through” her head. The agony intensifies until a Voice enters Alice’s mind, asking her, “Do you want this pain to stop?” The Voice then instructs her to go up to Bandit Sakda, a classmate playing basketball, and say that she loves him. Bandit is a beautiful Thai boy who’s talented and arrogant. Strangely, the Voice calls her Malice and says not to fall for him because “it’ll only make what you have to do later harder.” Eventually, Alice learns that the Voice belongs to someone from 10 years in the future who needs help saving humanity. A virus will be created by a person Alice knows that will wipe out two-thirds of the world population. Following the Voice’s directions can save everyone—except the person Alice is ordered to kill. Dunn’s (Star-Crossed, 2018, etc.) latest YA adventure offers increasingly tantalizing twists that gleam in succession like nested matryoshka dolls. Alice will charm readers with her quirks, especially her devotion to Chris Hemsworth of Marvel’s Avengers films. Tension builds as characters in the large cast, including crushworthy Zeke Cain and the brilliant Cristela Ruiz, become potential targets for Alice’s mission. Details about Thai culture add a splendid dimension to the narrative; for example, Bandit is pronounced “bun-dit” and means “one who is wise.” While the notion of a high school killer may not sit well with some, the author doesn’t use the device lightly. Her book takes a strong anti-bullying stance, doing so through an entertaining narrative that doesn’t resort to preaching. The author’s heart and craftiness make a sequel welcome.
Well-drawn characters and playful twists keep this thriller fully charged.Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-64063-412-1
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Any moral that may be gleaned from the tangled narrative is buried in confusion. (Fantasy. YA)
A convoluted fantasy offering a series of morals about justice, mercy, human treatment of animals and human treatment of other humans.
A cluster of animals have been educated by a World War II veteran and his activist wife. The animals, a now-vegetarian mix of carnivores, herbivores and omnivores, live in harmony on Cloudburst Mountain. Following their scriptures (the Bible, Animal Farm and judgments such as “Humans Are Evil”), they plan for the day when they will kill all the humans and rule the world. The tale follows the adventures of their coyote prophet Justice and human ally Cody as they travel the United States preparing other animals for “The Rebellion.” Though they meet mostly repellent, violent humans and mistreated animals, they also encounter enough well-meaning, victimized humans to make Cody question his alliance with the cause of human genocide. Meanwhile, the grandson of the original human missionaries to the animals threatens the entire endeavor as he plans to mine the mountain for uranium. Ultimately, the animals succeed in murdering the vast majority of the human race, giving them hope for a shining new day. This overly complex tale is dense with purple prose and far too many extraneous characters–for example, Gordon “Raindance” Fell, the Shadow Shaman of the Pokihallah tribe; and Forest Victor, who appears for the first time late in the story, saying of his never-mentioned-before dead wife, “if only her hatred of the evil deeds of the baby seal killers hadn’t drawn her and her cameras into a combative stance.”
Any moral that may be gleaned from the tangled narrative is buried in confusion. (Fantasy. YA)Pub Date: June 21, 2006
ISBN: 0-595-39274-1
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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