Achieves flights of fancy but never truly soars.
An ordinary princess embarks on an unexpected journey.
Neither the heir nor the spare with two older siblings, 17-year-old Princess Jiara of Azzaria craves adventures over academics due to her learning disability (which an author’s note names as dyslexia). Jiara had no expectation of becoming a queen, but after her older sister, Scilla, is murdered, Jiara must wed young King Raffar of Farnskag in her stead to protect an important political alliance. Tattooed and bald per Farnskag’s customs, Raffar is handsome and attentive, but Jiara feels alienated in her new home. Struggling to learn the new language, Jiara grows suspicious of her husband’s trusted advisers and soon uncovers betrayals both personal and political. Contending with Scilla’s vengeful ghost, who is growing more violent as her murderer goes unpunished, Jiara also earns the protection of her new home’s deities, the elemental Watchers, and their monoliths. Black-haired Jiara hails from a Mediterranean-feeling Azzaria while Raffar comes from racially diverse Farnskag, a kingdom that feels more northern European. The political passementerie is tiresome while the zero-to-hero/chosen-one trope is regrettably trite; the inclusion of a princess with a disability is welcome, if not unprecedented. Debut novelist Rueckert occasionally offers dazzling settings and swoonworthy romantic moments, using Jiara’s emotional and literal journeys to hammer home the twin messages of acceptance and accommodation for different cultures, sexual orientations, and faiths. Neither grimdark nor frivolous, this is a middling political fantasy.
Achieves flights of fancy but never truly soars. (map) (Fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-63583-065-1
Page Count: 392
Publisher: Flux
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
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
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