An intense, darkly atmospheric, and skillful fairy-tale retelling.
A young woman must calm the tempest within her to save her cursed family.
Eighteen-year-old Rowenna Winthrop has waited for years to learn craft from her mother, Mairead. But her lack of emotional control gives Mairead pause in teaching Rowenna the ways of the Cailleach—and just when Mairead concedes, she’s taken. Harboring the truth of the evil her mother faced and the untamed craft within her leaves Rowenna unsettled. Her foreboding grows when a fuath impersonating her mother infiltrates the family, rendering Rowenna mute and cursing her brothers to turn into swans. Determined Rowenna must travel the Highlands as she tries to expel this terrible creature. Weymouth’s storytelling is lyrical and immersive: The well-woven lore is set against the coastal, cliffside village of Neadeala and the Scottish wilderness, with shadowy creatures, bloody omens, and other carnage. Cruelty and dark forces come in the form of both the magical and also human tyrant Torr Pendragon. A romance with Gawen MacArthur, a rebel seeking the help of Rowenna’s craft, evolves naturally, and the story’s big heartache comes from family members who meet Rowenna with doubt, disbelief, and blame. In this tale inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Wild Swans,” readers will appreciate in Rowenna a fierceness as she grows into her craft and her determination and sense of self strengthen. Characters read as White.
An intense, darkly atmospheric, and skillful fairy-tale retelling. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-534-49308-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2021
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
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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