Following on the heels (or maybe wings) of The Sweet Dead Life (2013), Jenna, now 15, is hoping for a little calm in her...
Sassy, smart-mouthed, cowboy-boot fan Jenna Samuels is back once again, fighting evildoers with the aid of her angelic cohorts.
Following on the heels (or maybe wings) of The Sweet Dead Life (2013), Jenna, now 15, is hoping for a little calm in her life—but wherever Jenna goes, trouble seems to follow. Her newly deceased-cum-angel brother, Casey, and his equally angelic mentor, Amber Velasco, are still earthbound. Jenna decides to try to help figure out exactly what caused Amber’s untimely demise; could that be what’s keeping her and Casey from moving along? Together with a roguish angel named Bo Shivers, they soon find themselves embroiled in yet another nefarious plot, related by Jenna with her signature angst in journal entries. While this sequel has many of the elements that made its predecessor so much fun, the mystery feels contrived, and it unravels at a glacial pace. The big reveal—which follows a surfeit of vague, portentous remarks—is too similar to the last installment’s to satisfy. Those who enjoyed the previous paranormal-without-romance aspect, be warned: Jenna now finds love, and while her new beau is quite the character, much of her narrative revolves dizzyingly around her romance. This series seems to be in a bit of a sophomore slump; here’s hoping subsequent volumes will again take flight. (Paranormal fiction. 13-16) .Pub Date: May 13, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-61695-290-7
Page Count: 259
Publisher: Soho Teen
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2014
An enjoyable, if predictable, romantic holiday story.
Is an exuberant extended family the cure for a breakup? Sophie is about to find out.
When Sophie unexpectedly breaks up with her boyfriend, she isn’t thrilled about spending the holidays at her grandparents’ house instead of with him. And when her grandmother forms a plan to distract Sophie from her broken heart—10 blind dates, each set up by different family members—she’s even less thrilled. Everyone gets involved with the matchmaking, even forming a betting pool on the success of each date. But will Sophie really find someone to fill the space left by her ex? Will her ex get wind of Sophie’s dating spree via social media and want them to get back together? Is that what she even wants anymore? This is a fun story of finding love, getting to know yourself, and getting to know your family. The pace is quick and light, though the characters are fairly shallow and occasionally feel interchangeable, especially with so many names involved. A Christmas tale, the plot is a fast-paced series of dinners, parties, and games, relayed in both narrative form and via texts, though the humor occasionally feels stiff and overwrought. The ending is satisfying, though largely unsurprising. Most characters default to white as members of Sophie’s Italian American extended family, although one of her cousins has a Filipina mother. One uncle is gay.
An enjoyable, if predictable, romantic holiday story. (Fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-368-02749-6
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
An overall entertaining read.
In this sequel to The Similars (2018), tensions rise as the villains reveal a ploy to exact revenge on the Ten and their families and ultimately take over the world.
When Emma Chance returns to her elite boarding school, Darkwood Academy, for her senior year, things are different: Her best friend, Ollie Ward, is back while Levi Gravelle, Ollie’s clone and Emma’s love interest, has been imprisoned on Castor Island. More importantly, Emma is coming to terms with the contents of a letter from Gravelle which states that she is Eden, a Similar created to replace the original Emma, who died as a child. To complicate matters further, other clones—who are not Similars—infiltrate Darkwood, and Emma and her friends uncover a plot that threatens not only the lives of everyone they care about, but also the world as they know it. Hanover wastes no time delving right into the action; readers unfamiliar with the first book may get lost. This duology closer is largely predictable and often filled with loopholes, but the fast-paced narrative and one unexpected plot twist make for an engaging ride. As before, most of the primary characters read as white, and supporting characters remain underdeveloped. Despite its flaws and often implausible turns of events, the novel calls attention to larger questions of identity, selfhood, and what it means to be human.
An overall entertaining read. (Dystopia. 13-16)Pub Date: Dec. 10, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-6513-7
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2019
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