Full of creepy, exciting magical action and well-rounded characters with complex relationships.
Gender-nonconforming Princess Thedra must survive the Poison Forest despite the limitations of her magic in order to save her former betrothed, Princess Dette.
Seventeen-year-old Thedra, a powerful lightning elemental, becomes High Priestess of Death and can now take her father’s throne. But grief over her mother’s recent death and the subsequent breaking of her betrothal to half-sylph, half-human Dette leaves her unsure of what she wants. When rumors of a dark mage stealing powered girls become all too real—Dette is kidnapped by a magical monster—Thedra defies her father to rescue her. She is joined by untrained fire elemental Neev, who is Dette’s lady-in-waiting, and Agate, a palace guard and rare powered man. Together they must travel through the Poison Forest and face the mage. Complicating matters, Thedra finds herself falling for Neev. But can she really trust her companions? If not, her power alone won’t be enough to save Dette. In this debut novel filled with magic, sylphs, goblins, and goddesses, well-written, underrepresented diversity abounds: All the main characters are queer; Thedra, Neev, and Agate read White, and Dette is brown-skinned with curly black hair. The refreshingly organic integration of representation and the action-packed second half of the book are worth its slow start.
Full of creepy, exciting magical action and well-rounded characters with complex relationships. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 979-8-9865998-0-9
Page Count: 258
Publisher: Sword and Silk Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2022
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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