Solid action, high stakes and a likable heroine keep the pages turning.
This second installment in a new espionage-action series for girls (Two Lies and a Spy, 2013) provides suspenseful entertainment, although Kari Andrews is no Alex Rider.
The story begins in Paris, where 16-year-old Kari studies at Generation Interpol, training to become a spy like her parents, who turned traitors and abandoned their family in the previous book. Although Kari has real talent in martial arts, it’s difficult to imagine a character less suited to the spy trade. She’s uninterested in and unable to learn languages or the technical aspects of her chosen profession. Throughout the book, Kari shows herself to be a walking bundle of rampant emotions. She can’t control herself even in the most dangerous situations, and her emotional outbursts threaten the success of her mission over and over. Fortunately, handsome Evan keeps her in line, though with some difficulty, by reminding Kari that her little brother Charlie’s life could be lost if she doesn’t calm down. Shadowy enemies have kidnapped the 7-year-old genius, threatening to dismember and then kill him if Kari doesn’t spring a thief from jail. She teams up with Evan and two other friends in a caper that takes the group across Europe and involves a nifty break-in to a highly secure company headquarters.
Solid action, high stakes and a likable heroine keep the pages turning. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4814-0052-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
Ideal for readers seeking perspectives on war, with a heavy dash of romance and touch of fantasy.
A war between gods plays havoc with mortals and their everyday lives.
In a time of typewriters and steam engines, Iris Winnow awaits word from her older brother, who has enlisted on the side of Enva the Skyward goddess. Alcohol abuse led to her mother’s losing her job, and Iris has dropped out of school and found work utilizing her writing skills at the Oath Gazette. Hiding the stress of her home issues behind a brave face, Iris competes for valuable assignments that may one day earn her the coveted columnist position. Her rival for the job is handsome and wealthy Roman Kitt, whose prose entrances her so much she avoids reading his articles. At home, she writes cathartic letters to her brother, never posting them but instead placing them in her wardrobe, where they vanish overnight. One day Iris receives a reply, which, along with other events, pushes her to make dramatic life decisions. Magic plays a quiet role in this story, and readers may for a time forget there is anything supernatural going on. This is more of a wartime tale of broken families, inspired youths, and higher powers using people as pawns. It flirts with clichéd tropes but also takes some startling turns. Main characters are assumed White; same-sex marriages and gender equality at the warfront appear to be the norm in this world.
Ideal for readers seeking perspectives on war, with a heavy dash of romance and touch of fantasy. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-85743-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
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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