A logic-light, romance-heavy novel that evidently has no aspirations beyond accompanying the CW series.
The 100 teenage convicts sent to recolonize Earth (a need more pressing than they know) in The 100 (2013) discover just how inhabited the planet really is.
As in the series opener, the narration is divided among characters. Amid frequent flashbacks, Bellamy, Clarke and Wells struggle through love triangles on Earth, while up in space, Glass updates readers on the colony’s status. The situation’s deteriorating rapidly—they’re running out of oxygen, and the colony doesn’t have enough dropships to take everyone to Earth. Class conflicts among the three ships are highlighted in the subsequent struggle, yet the root of this animosity is still a mystery. On Earth, the survivors of the 100 cope with both the most recent attack by the Earthborn and a mysterious illness—possibly radiation poisoning. The teens capture an Earthborn girl and discover that they aren’t the first colonizers sent. Rather than getting any useful information from the girl (it’s all withheld for last-minute reveals), they waver between wanting to execute her and including her in relationship drama. It’s amazing anything survival-related happens considering the amount of energy spent on characters’ rapidly vacillating feelings toward one another (the dynamic appears to be a binary one: love or loathing). Despite this, the novel is still faster paced than The 100. Additionally, Glass’ storyline speeds up at the conclusion, positioning readers for the next installment.
A logic-light, romance-heavy novel that evidently has no aspirations beyond accompanying the CW series. (Science fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Sept. 25, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-316-23455-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2014
Eden’s emotionally raw narration is compelling despite its solipsism. (Fiction. 14-18)
In the three years following Eden’s brutal rape by her brother’s best friend, Kevin, she descends into anger, isolation, and promiscuity.
Eden’s silence about the assault is cemented by both Kevin’s confident assurance that if she tells anyone, “No one will ever believe you. You know that. No one. Not ever,” and a chillingly believable death threat. For the remainder of Eden’s freshman year, she withdraws from her family and becomes increasingly full of hatred for Kevin and the world she feels failed to protect her. But when a friend mentions that she’s “reinventing” herself, Eden embarks on a hopeful plan to do the same. She begins her sophomore year with new clothes and friendly smiles for her fellow students, which attract the romantic attentions of a kind senior athlete. But, bizarrely, Kevin’s younger sister goes on a smear campaign to label Eden a “totally slutty disgusting whore,” which sends Eden back toward self-destruction. Eden narrates in a tightly focused present tense how she withdraws again from nearly everyone and attempts to find comfort (or at least oblivion) through a series of nearly anonymous sexual encounters. This self-centeredness makes her relationships with other characters feel underdeveloped and even puzzling at times. Absent ethnic and cultural markers, Eden and her family and classmates are likely default white.
Eden’s emotionally raw narration is compelling despite its solipsism. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: March 22, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-4935-9
Page Count: 384
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
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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