While it’s less compelling than her Ruby Red Trilogy, fans should enjoy Gier’s latest chilling, unresolved tale of sinister...
A teen who loves secrets finds herself in the dreams of four handsome guys at her posh London school in this first volume of the Silver Trilogy.
Having lived in six different countries on four different continents in the span of eight years, 15-year-old Liv and her younger sister look forward to settling outside Oxford with their divorced mother. Instead, they move in with their mother’s boyfriend and his twin teens, Grayson and Florence. Adjusting to her new family and school, Liv has a bizarre dream in which she’s watching Grayson and his three best friends perform a demonic ritual in which Liv figures prominently. The next day, Liv remembers the dream clearly, and Grayson’s friends, especially Henry, seem very interested in her. She realizes she’s able to visit their dreams, and they can visit hers. Determined to uncover the truth behind the dreams and unsure whom to trust, Liv discovers she’s slated to complete a demonic circle. As she narrates this surreal puzzler, feisty Liv conveys the curiosity, humor and bewilderment of a contemporary schoolgirl navigating a strange dream world while coping with her first romantic crush.
While it’s less compelling than her Ruby Red Trilogy, fans should enjoy Gier’s latest chilling, unresolved tale of sinister dreams and budding romance. (Fantasy. 12-17)Pub Date: April 14, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-62779-027-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2014
“Cinderella” but with genocide and rebel plots.
The daughter of a murdered queen plots to take back what is hers.
With her country seized and her mother, the Fire Queen of Astrea, murdered by invaders when she was only 6 years old, Theodosia has been a prisoner for 10 years, stripped of her crown, her people enslaved. Theo (renamed Thora by her captors) is at the mercy of the Kaiser—the fearsome ruler of the Kalovaxians—enduring his malicious whims in order to survive. But when the Kaiser forces Theo to execute her own father, survival is no longer good enough, and she finally takes up the mantle of queen to lead her people’s rise to resistance in a land saturated in elemental magic. Debut author Sebastian has invigorated some well-worn fantasy tropes (a displaced heir, an underground rebellion, and a love triangle that muddies the distinctions between enemies and allies), delivering a narrative that crackles with political intrigue, powerful and debilitating magic, and the violent mechanisms of colonization even as it leaves sequel-primed gaps. Some details—like Theo’s crisis of identity and Hamletian indecision—work well to submerge readers in a turbulent and enthralling plot; others, like racialized descriptions that fall short of actual representation (Atreans are dark-haired and olive-skinned, Kalovaxians are blond and pale-skinned) and the use of magic-induced madness for narrative shock and awe feel lazy and distracting among more nuanced elements.
“Cinderella” but with genocide and rebel plots. (Fantasy. 14-17)Pub Date: April 24, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5247-6706-8
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: April 2, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
A sparkling new fantasy dulled by an unconvincing romance.
In a world where sirens must kill their soul mates for honor, one wants to do the exact opposite.
Bone Criers—Ferriers among the Leurress—guide the dead to their afterlives in Elara’s Night Heavens or Tyrus’ Underworld, thus protecting mortals from their wrath. But to become a Ferrier, one must endure the rite of passage and sacrifice their amouré—one true love—to the gods. Ailesse, daughter of the Leurress’ matriarch, plans to kill her amouré immediately and avoid falling in love altogether. On the night she plays the bone flute to summon him, she meets Bastien—a boy thirsting for vengeance after witnessing his father’s death by a Bone Crier. After she is abducted by Bastien and his friends, her friend Sabine promises to rescue Ailesse, even if it means sacrificing animals and disobeying Leurress elders. Chapters alternate points of view, offering insight into the individual protagonists, but ultimately the characters are not well developed and are bound to the tropes Purdie (Frozen Reign, 2018, etc.) assigns them: Ailesse, an heiress who longs to please her obviously deceitful mother; Bastien, the predictable enemy-turned–love interest; and Sabine, the best friend who disappoints despite every opportunity to shine. The sudden appearance of a French dauphin during a messy climax sets readers up for another love triangle (the first involving Ailesse, Bastien, and his friend Jules). The cast is mostly white.
A sparkling new fantasy dulled by an unconvincing romance. (map) (Fantasy. 12-17)Pub Date: March 10, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-279877-0
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
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