A lush and bloody historical thriller.
In 16th-century Hungary, 16-year-old Anna Darvulia, a talented healer, becomes a chambermaid to the notorious Countess Elizabeth of Bathory.
After her father dies, providing for her family now falls to Anna; marriage is not an option and holds no appeal. Scullery work is backbreaking, but Anna seizes on the opportunity to prove her worth when the Countess falls ill. The vibrant, 19-year-old Elizabeth awakens something in Anna, and she eventually becomes Elizabeth’s lover and pampered companion. But Elizabeth, who is obsessed with youth, beauty, and the healthy bloom that blood brings to the cheeks, has a dark side. Anna has difficulty reconciling the Countess’ vicious treatment of her staff with the kind, generous Elizabeth she knows so intimately. However, as Elizabeth spirals into full-blown madness, Anna comes to her senses and plans her escape—but can Anna also escape her own complicity? Popovic (Fierce Like a Firestorm, 2018, etc.) masterfully conveys the genuine, visceral horror of Elizabeth’s actions (and startling body count) without being gratuitous, though to remain true to the Bathory legend, there must be blood. It’s difficult to humanize a legendary monster like Bathory, but Popovic gives it an admirable shot. She also touches on how a patriarchal society can drive women to extremes without letting the truly terrifying Bathory, or Anna, off the hook for their own actions. All characters seem to be white.
A lush and bloody historical thriller. (Thriller. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3886-9
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Oct. 20, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
Busy, busy, busy…with portents of doom.
Clare’s (Ghosts of the Shadow Market, 2019, etc.) latest is set in the Shadowhunter world in the 20th century’s first decade (with frequent flashbacks to the previous one).
Teenage offspring of the Herondales, Carstairs, Fairchilds, and other angel-descended Nephilim continue their families’ demon-fighting ways amid a round of elegant London balls, soirees, salons, picnics, and romantic intrigues. James Herondale, 17-year-old son of Will and Tessa, finds himself and his “perfectly lethal dimple” hung up between two stunning new arrivals: Cordelia Carstairs, red-haired Persian/British wielder of a fabled magic sword, and Grace Blackthorn, an emotionally damaged but (literally, as the author unsubtly telegraphs) spellbinding friend from childhood. Meanwhile, a sudden outbreak of demonic attacks that leave more and more Shadowhunters felled by a mysterious slow poison plunges James and a cohort of allies into frantic searches for both a cause and an antidote. Ichor-splashed encounters with ravening boojums and even one of hell’s own princes ensue—all leading to final hints of a devastating scheme to destroy the Nephilim in which James himself is slated to play a central role. Characters have a range of skin tones, but ethnic diversity adds no texture to the portrayals; there is a lesbian cousin who wears traditionally male clothing and two young gay men (one tortured, the other less so).
Busy, busy, busy…with portents of doom. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: March 3, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4814-3187-3
Page Count: 624
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
A riveting thriller that seamlessly incorporates powerful social themes.
A star football player makes a life-changing wish that comes to haunt him.
Kincade Webster III attends high school on an athletic scholarship—he’s one of the few Black students at the exclusive, mostly white Neeson Preparatory Academy in Virginia. With his dad dying of lung cancer, Cade dreams of making it in the NFL so that he’ll be able to support his mom and younger sister. He also wants to someday help his childhood best friend, Booker, and Booker’s sister, Gabby, leave their neighborhood of Jacobs Court. Meanwhile, the school’s football games are frequently being canceled due to anonymous bomb threats. Fearing for his own safety after a white woman on the bus misinterprets Cade’s helpful gesture as criminal and riles up an angry crowd, he flees, ending up hiding from the police in a pawn shop. Following a strange interaction with the eccentric shopkeeper, Cade utters the fateful words, “I wish everyone would stop acting so scared around me,” thus triggering a series of chaotic, otherworldly consequences and leading him to Ruin Road, or “the road between realms.” Giles’ robust descriptions of the setting and nuanced characterization provide this intricately plotted story with incredible depth. Occasional perspective shifts deftly flesh out the landscape of suspenseful supernatural elements, and abhorrent acts of racism bring a sobering sense of reality to this magic-filled story.
A riveting thriller that seamlessly incorporates powerful social themes. (Paranormal thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2024
ISBN: 9781338894134
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024
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