by K.D. McEntire ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 2011
Creative ideas outpace the writing quality.
Wendy struggles to hold her personal life together while performing the Lightbringer duties of reaping souls of the dead.
In McEntire's debut, ghosts wander the land in between living and a true afterlife, a land called the Never. Wendy, as a Lightbringer, can see and interact with the Never. Piotr is one of the ghosts of the Never, an eternal teenager who, as a Rider, protects the ghosts of children: When children die with too much life ahead of them, their ghosts become batteries for cannibalistic adult ghosts called Walkers. Wendy discovers that the Never is far more dangerous than she imagined when her mother's soul goes missing after an accident. Meanwhile, Piotr finds protecting his group of children, the Lost, increasingly difficult, as Walkers have begun organizing under the power of a mysterious creature, the White Lady. When Wendy and Piotr team up to help each other with the strange happenings of the Never, the White Lady begins haunting Wendy's dreams. The prose is bloated and initially disorienting, with dialogue aiming to reflect the time periods of the ghosts coming off instead as stilted. The narrative is strongest when it recalls Wendy's familial obligations—holding her siblings and household together in the place of her comatose mother—and allows them to conflict with her job and growing affection for Piotr. Superficial references to Peter Pan fail to resonate meaningfully, leaving them effectively nothing more than a naming device.
Creative ideas outpace the writing quality. (Paranormal romance. 12-17)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-61614-539-2
Page Count: 324
Publisher: Pyr/Prometheus Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
Share your opinion of this book
by Jerry Spinelli ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 3, 2021
Characters to love, quips to snort at, insights to ponder: typical Spinelli.
For two teenagers, a small town’s annual cautionary ritual becomes both a life- and a death-changing experience.
On the second Wednesday in June, every eighth grader in Amber Springs, Pennsylvania, gets a black shirt, the name and picture of a teen killed the previous year through reckless behavior—and the silent treatment from everyone in town. Like many of his classmates, shy, self-conscious Robbie “Worm” Tarnauer has been looking forward to Dead Wed as a day for cutting loose rather than sober reflection…until he finds himself talking to a strange girl or, as she would have it, “spectral maiden,” only he can see or touch. Becca Finch is as surprised and confused as Worm, only remembering losing control of her car on an icy slope that past Christmas Eve. But being (or having been, anyway) a more outgoing sort, she sees their encounter as a sign that she’s got a mission. What follows, in a long conversational ramble through town and beyond, is a day at once ordinary yet rich in discovery and self-discovery—not just for Worm, but for Becca too, with a climactic twist that leaves both ready, or readier, for whatever may come next. Spinelli shines at setting a tongue-in-cheek tone for a tale with serious underpinnings, and as in Stargirl (2000), readers will be swept into the relationship that develops between this adolescent odd couple. Characters follow a White default.
Characters to love, quips to snort at, insights to ponder: typical Spinelli. (Fiction. 12-15)Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-30667-3
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
Share your opinion of this book
More by Jerry Spinelli
BOOK REVIEW
by Jerry Spinelli ; illustrated by Larry Day
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
by Jerry Spinelli ; illustrated by LeUyen Pham
by J.C. Cervantes ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 19, 2022
An original twist on the modern fairy tale amplified by sisterly affection and a poignant sense of place.
Seventeen, studying journalism, and living with her sisters in the City of Angels, Ava Granados believes only in that which she can see. She’s about to see a lot more.
The women of the Granados family have the gift of blessings: Upon her death, a matriarch like Ava’s beloved Nana has the chance to bestow blessings upon her female descendants. When a freak storm keeps Ava from reaching Nana’s bedside in time and disrupts the passage of her blessing before Nana dies, Ava is faced with an unlooked-for challenge, unbelievable new companions, and a boy she has no intention of falling for. Intertwining past and present, stories already told and stories yet to be discovered, debut author Cervantes carries Ava through the tumultuous summer before her senior year of high school with style, charm, and wisdom. This novel will especially resonate with any young person whose formative years have been paved with stories of fierce and industrious ancestors. The Mexican American Granados sisters sit at the junction of Hollywood affluence and immigrant grit, their perspectives adding a vibrant thread to the contemporary tapestry of Latine fiction. And Los Angeles, a city of bold dreams and glittering destinies, is a character all its own: Each lovingly described neighborhood, canyon, and beach brings new emotion to the narrative.
An original twist on the modern fairy tale amplified by sisterly affection and a poignant sense of place. (Fiction. 12-17)Pub Date: April 19, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-40445-4
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2022
Share your opinion of this book
More by J.C. Cervantes
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.