Those looking for fantasy with diversity may find themselves bewitched.
Reminiscent of Practical Magic, this sensory-rich debut and series opener highlights the mysteries of life, death, and love for modern twin witches.
Produced from their Eastern European mother and a Japanese father they’ve never met, mixed-race fraternal twins Iris and Malina know they are also witches born with “the gleam,” a magical way to bring forth and manipulate beauty. Raised in the medieval town of Cattaro in the Balkan country of Montenegro and isolated from other witches, abrasive Iris has had less and less practice with summoning the beauty of fractals, particularly through flowers, and tender Malina, with eliciting emotions through her beautiful voice. Narrator Iris has resigned herself to making flowers only through glassworks and helping her gruff mother, Jasmina, in her confectionery until there are strange occurrences and visitors in town. When Jasmina is the victim of a possible murder attempt and left in a state between life and death, it’s up to Iris and Malina to find the culprit. The real mystery, however, becomes discovering their complex coven background and connection to generations of strong women with varying gifts of gleam and breaking a deathly family curse. This deliberate narrative is not for fans of the quick, adventurous whodunit but for readers who enjoy detailed descriptions, particularly ones that evoke sights, sounds, and smells.
Those looking for fantasy with diversity may find themselves bewitched. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-243683-2
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations.
Magic, mystery, and love intertwine and invite in this newest take on the “enchanted circus” trope.
Sisters raised by their abusive father, a governor of a colonial backwater in a world vaguely reminiscent of the late 18th century, Scarlett and Donatella each long for something more. Scarlett, olive-skinned, dark of hair and attitude, longs for Caraval, the fabled, magical circus helmed by the possibly evil Master Legend Santos, while blonde, sunny Tella finds comfort in drink and the embraces of various men. A slightly awkward start, with inconsistencies of attitude and setting, rapidly smooths out when they, along with handsome “golden-brown” sailor Julian, flee to Caraval on the eve of Scarlett’s arranged marriage. Tella disappears, and Scarlett must navigate a nighttime world of magic to find her. Caraval delights the senses: beautiful and scary, described in luscious prose, this is a show readers will wish they could enter. Dresses can be purchased for secrets or days of life; clocks can become doors; bridges move: this is an inventive and original circus, laced with an edge of horror. A double love story, one sensual romance and the other sisterly loyalty, anchors the plot, but the real star here is Caraval and its secrets.
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-09525-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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