Readers seeking a queer fantasy that taps into the popularity of mermaids and fairy-tale adaptations may appreciate this...
A free-spirited mermaid chafes against the constraints of her imperiled community, risking her life for a taste of love and freedom.
Living in the glacial caves of the frozen Arctic, their formerly tropical, matriarchal society now ruled harshly by a sadistic king, the merfolks’ future is at risk thanks to declining female fertility. Blue-haired, topaz-scaled Ersel has no interest in settling down to hatch babies; her forbidden fascination with human shipwrecks and the artifacts they contain has focused her sights on broader horizons. Pressured to accept a proposal from her best friend, Havamal, a hunky blue-gray–eyed, silver-scaled merman, but intensely attracted to Ragna, the fair-skinned, blonde human woman she is secretly meeting, a desperate Ersel bargains with the crafty, shape-shifting, gender-fluid Norse god Loki in a risky bid for self-determination. This adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid” touches on themes of environmental destruction, reproductive rights, and feminism and is set in a watery northern world of humans on whaling ships, polar bears, and beluga whales. While there is plenty of action (spiced up with romance) to keep pages turning, the characters lack the emotional depth necessary to be compelling and engaging.
Readers seeking a queer fantasy that taps into the popularity of mermaids and fairy-tale adaptations may appreciate this offering despite its flaws. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: May 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-945053-20-7
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Duet
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
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 compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters.
When star hockey player Alec Barczewski’s estranged childhood friend, Dani Collins, moves to town, they end up in a mutually beneficial fake-dating relationship that reignites old feelings.
Following her parents’ divorce, Dani and her mom move in with Dani’s hockey legend grandfather in Southview, Minnesota, where she spent a month every summer as a child and where her friendship with Alec grew. Between visits, the two were pen pals, but they eventually fell out of touch. Despite some tensions over their loss of friendship, the high school seniors reconnect. Desperate to get off Harvard’s waitlist, Dani needs another extracurricular activity, while Alec—whose reputation took a hit when a photo of him holding a bong appeared on social media—is eager to improve his tarnished image for NHL scouts. The pair strike a deal: They’ll fake date, making Alec look like a stable guy whose academically gifted girlfriend is related to hockey royalty, and in exchange, he’ll get Dani a team manager position that will catch the eye of Harvard’s admissions officers. Eventually, complicated feelings about their past, stressful family relationships, and their brewing romance boil over. Romance fans will love the deliciously tension-filled scenes between Alec and Dani, who are believable friends with heavy demands weighing on them. They feel like real teenagers, and readers will enjoy rooting for them as the well-paced story unfolds. Main characters present white.
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781665921268
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
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