A fine balance of political intrigue, relationship drama, and thoughtful characterization.
“Revolutionaries…didn’t consider the paperwork involved when they were plotting their reforms; they just left it to people like me to sort out the details.”
In this riveting fantasy sequel, Soraya Gamo is only 19, but, as the ex-betrothed of the ex-king, she serves on the Ruling Council, struggling to keep Qilara’s two peoples—the original inhabitants, who have dark hair and olive skin, and their fairer newly-emancipated slaves—free, fed, and away from each other’s throats. But the fledgling government, dependent on her family’s rapidly diminishing wealth, is riven by jealousy and mistrust. Assassination attempts leave Soraya alone with the colleague who most despises her to cope with political disasters, financial crises, and an incipient countercoup…that attempts to make her queen. While overstuffed with backstory, Soraya’s compelling narration makes the minutiae of management as thrilling as the betrayals, murders, and desperate gambits propelling the plot. Arrogant, calculating, and suspicious, Soraya isn’t easy to like; but her ferocious intelligence, ruthless discipline, and wry humor command respect, and her clumsy kindness and longing for affection evoke sympathy. Without ever diminishing the horrors of slavery, her emotional scars reveal how entrenched sexism and classism are also corrosive. Even as she sacrifices everything she once valued, Soraya’s hard-won independence feels triumphant; similarly, readers will cheer Qilara’s stumbling progress and hope for future updates.
A fine balance of political intrigue, relationship drama, and thoughtful characterization. (Fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 9, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-232464-1
Page Count: 400
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
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
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
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