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 sweet, romantic visit to the iconic Disney Fairies world.
The Pixie Dust Root is in danger, and one fairy is determined to save it—and the Pixie Dust Tree that all of Pixie Hollow depends upon.
In this stand-alone story set in the same world as Allison Saft’s Wings of Starlight (2025), Periwinkle, a frost-talent who has a gift for finding things—or maybe they have a way of finding her?—discovers a lost thread of magic that grants her the ability to dream. But not all dreams are as sparkly as Periwinkle. One night, she awakens from a nightmare to find herself in the Winter Woods with a fairy she’s never met, a sparrow man named Weaver, who claims to be a rare dream-talent. Disconcertingly, Weaver knows her—he calls her “perfect Periwinkle” and for some reason doesn’t seem to like her very much. Nevertheless, Periwinkle finds herself drawn to Weaver. When he tells her he can save the Pixie Dust Root by spinning her dreams into thread if she helps him find the magic tools he needs, Periwinkle agrees. Their journey leads the pair, who are pale-skinned, to discover things they like about each other, too. This is an opposites-attract adventure with romantic tension, a high-stakes quest, personal discovery, and betrayal. The characters struggle with inner turmoil while also adjusting their understanding of each other. Bright balances the fun with explorations of themes of snap judgments, labels, and weaponizing fear.
A sweet, romantic visit to the iconic Disney Fairies world. (Fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2026
ISBN: 9780736447362
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Disney/Random House
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and...
A deliciously creepy page-turning gem from first-time writer and illustrator Brosgol finds brooding teenager Anya trying to escape the past—both her own and the ghost haunting her.
Anya feels out of place at her preppy private school; embarrassed by her Russian heritage, she has worked hard to lose her accent and to look more like everyone else. After a particularly frustrating morning at the bus stop, Anya storms off, only to accidentally fall down a well. Down in the dark hole, she meets Emily, a ghost who claims to be a murder victim trapped down in the dank abyss for 90 years. With Emily’s help, Anya manages to escape, though once free, she learns that Emily has traveled out with her. At first, Emily seems like the perfect friend; however, once her motives become clear, Anya learns that “perfect” may only be an illusion. A moodily atmospheric spectrum of grays washes over the clean, tidy panels, setting a distinct stage before the first words appear. Brosgol’s tight storytelling invokes the chilling feeling of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (2002), though for a decidedly older set.
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and outward appearance. (Graphic supernatural fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: June 7, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59643-552-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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