Vivid urban jungle SF settings and vigorous storytelling—if readers can overlook Katniss Everdeen’s shadow.
In this post-apocalyptic series opener, two young people from the semi-anarchic streets find themselves at the center of unrest and a brewing revolution in a police state.
Gschwandtner’s tale is part of the alarmingly fecund SF genre starring YA characters fomenting revolt in a future dystopia. The setting is an unspecified country sometime after the ecological and economic “Collapse” of civilization. Widespread communication has ceased, and a city called Infinius is now a harsh, self-contained metropolis. Its dictator, Villinkash, uses a sort of sonic brainwashing to turn much of the populace into regimented proles, largely ignorant of the past and bombarded by Orwellian media propaganda. Meanwhile, children either run feral in the streets or suffer in Child Holding Centers. Teenage Niko ran away at age 12 from such government control, persevering among outcasts, loners, and predator gangs. But he has a guardian/benefactor, a mystery man called Huston. Niko is also cautiously friendly with El, a beautiful girl raised—and protected from ever present rape threats—amid an aging, nearly vanished order of nuns (and one holdover Roman Catholic priest) that the Regime tolerates. Niko enters The Race, a cruel but popular annual motorcycle spectacle designed to kill all but one of the 13 contestants. Huston ensures that Niko emerges triumphant from the barbaric Race, but when the teen shares his victory with El—instead of following the tradition of deflowering a state-offered virgin—the couple incur the wrath of Villinkash. While characterizations and psychological motivations are nicely detailed, readers may get a sense of a literary YA dystopia buffet cart stopping for extra-large helpings of Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games series. As Niko and El go rapidly from Infinius idols to enemies of the Regime (and of each other), readers will feel a little whiplash at the change of fortune even if it serves the genre’s mechanics (Villinkash really isn’t much more than a thuggish President Snow). Closing acts reveal that what seems to be a spontaneous rebellion in fact has deeper, more calculated intrigues behind it, though the volume ends with many narrative strands left dangling. Gschwandtner is bolder than most writers in this territory in deploying R-rated language and elements of violence and lust, though she never lapses into poor taste in the process.
Vivid urban jungle SF settings and vigorous storytelling—if readers can overlook Katniss Everdeen’s shadow. (discussion topics, acknowledgments, author bio)Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68463-051-6
Page Count: 264
Publisher: SparkPress
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
A charming cozy fantasy about defying expectations and finding love.
The lives of two Los Angeles girls inhabiting different universes intersect, proving that love knows no bounds.
Brenda Nguyen has a 19-step plan to save the world. Kat Woo is haunted by her legacy as the chosen one, a role she has no interest in. Brenda, working on an environmental science college scholarship application, stumbles into Sammy’s Coffee and Pick-Me-Ups, which Kat’s family owns. As the girls get to know each other, Brenda at last finds someone who’ll listen to her detailed plans, while Kat discovers she has something to look forward to. The girls, who alternate narrating the story, must defy the odds as their worlds begin to collide. As well as being a love story, this is an exploration of familial expectations: Kat is trying to outrun them, while Brenda is driven to fulfill hers. The girls, who are of Chinese and Vietnamese descent, respectively, complement each other: Brenda learns to live in the present, and Kat begins to look to the future. While there are pixie swarms and mana surges, the action takes a back seat to characterization. Lee’s fully developed parallel worlds are alike in many ways, although in Kat’s, you can buy teleportation spells at Target. The cast is rounded out by solid portrayals of the girls’ friends and family, who are important to the plot.
A charming cozy fantasy about defying expectations and finding love. (author’s note, recommended reading) (Fantasy romance. 14-18)Pub Date: June 10, 2025
ISBN: 9781250778024
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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