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
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
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. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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