In this funny, lighthearted follow-up to The Runaway Princess (2006), it’s the dragon’s turn to spread his wings and fly the coop. Princess Meg had promised to give her beloved pet dragon a grander, more grown-up name than Laddy, but months had passed and she’d neglected even to visit him. As the third-person narrator dryly states, “This was probably a mistake.” Meg’s ensuing quest to locate her fire-breathing Laddy before he further scorches the Kingdom of Greeve sets the lively, banter-rich romp in motion. Sixteen-year-old Meg is a reluctant princess, who, once tower-bound, understands Laddy’s flight impulse only too well. A born adventurer, she prefers swordplay to practicing 11 different curtsies, and while she’s not interested in silly princes, handsome bandits are decidedly up for consideration. Enchanted forests, rampant transmogrification, evil sorceresses and giants are all fine fodder for Coombs’s inventive twists on traditional fairy tales, as illuminated in the author’s note. This sequel is more scattered and less consistently riveting than its precursor, but admirers of the brave, noble Meg and her colorful entourage won’t want to miss it. (Fantasy. 9-14)
Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-374-36361-1
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2009
This promising debut is set in a dying underground city. Ember, which was founded and stocked with supplies centuries ago by “The Builders,” is now desperately short of food, clothes, and electricity to keep the town illuminated. Lina and Doon find long-hidden, undecipherable instructions that send them on a perilous mission to find what they believe must exist: an exit door from their disintegrating town. In the process, they uncover secret governmental corruption and a route to the world above. Well-paced, this contains a satisfying mystery, a breathtaking escape over rooftops in darkness, a harrowing journey into the unknown and cryptic messages for readers to decipher. The setting is well-realized with the constraints of life in the city intriguingly detailed. The likable protagonists are not only courageous but also believably flawed by human pride, their weaknesses often complementing each other in interesting ways. The cliffhanger ending will leave readers clamoring for the next installment. (Fiction. 9-13)
Pub Date: May 27, 2003
ISBN: 0-375-82273-9
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2003
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship.
A young tennis champion becomes the target of revenge.
In this sequel to Legacy and the Queen (2019), Legacy Petrin and her friends Javi and Pippa have returned to Legacy’s home province and the orphanage run by her father. With her friends’ help, she is in training to defend her championship when they discover that another player, operating under the protection of High Consul Silla, is presenting herself as Legacy. She is so convincing that the real Legacy is accused of being an imitation. False Legacy has become a hero to the masses, further strengthening Silla’s hold, and it becomes imperative to uncover and defeat her. If Legacy is to win again, she must play her imposter while disguised as someone else. Winning at tennis is not just about money and fame, but resisting Silla’s plans to send more young people into brutal mines with little hope of better lives. Legacy will have to overcome her fears and find the magic that allowed her to claim victory in the past. This story, with its elements of sports, fantasy, and social consciousness that highlight tensions between the powerful and those they prey upon, successfully continues the series conceived by late basketball superstar Bryant. As before, the tennis matches are depicted with pace and spirit. Legacy and Javi have brown skin; most other characters default to White.
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-949520-19-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Granity Studios
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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