A less-than-impressive addition to the plethora of mythology-based YA romances.
On a dark and stormy night, Mason Starling and her posh, Gosforth Academy fencing mates are saved from an attack of malicious mythological creatures by a handsome, disoriented stranger who only remembers his name: the Fennrys Wolf. Predictably, Fenn and Mason’s instant chemistry leads to a romance, which is lackluster at best. Their travels around New York City are recorded in meticulous detail that makes the novel feel more like a map than a story, as they attempt to solve the mystery behind the attack and unravel Fenn’s past. Meanwhile, Mason’s father and brothers are dedicated to the service of the Norse gods and hellbent on bringing about Ragnarok (the Norse destruction and rebirth of the world), and they plot to place Mason in harm’s way in hopes of goading Fenn into fulfilling a prophecy. Though Mason, unlike many of her counterparts, does get to fight, she is, disappointingly, still very much a damsel in distress. And while Livingston’s melding of mythologies and the faerie world with ours is interesting, characters with little dimensionality and questionable motives, along with a frustratingly choppy pace and dull romance, leave much to be desired.
The cliffhanger ending may convince insatiable paranormal-romance readers to give the next book in this series a try. (Paranormal romance. 13 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-06-206307-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2012
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This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression.
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After surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself.
Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself; her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out; her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply; and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. After spending time in treatment with other young women like her—who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves—Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she "like-likes" but who had pined for Ellis instead. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends. Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a "semifamous" local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. Through intense, diarylike chapters chronicling Charlie's journey, the author captures the brutal and heartbreaking way "girls who write their pain on their bodies" scar and mar themselves, either succumbing or surviving. Like most issue books, this is not an easy read, but it's poignant and transcendent as Charlie breaks more and more before piecing herself back together.
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-93471-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
Categories: TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES
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In the three years following Eden’s brutal rape by her brother’s best friend, Kevin, she descends into anger, isolation, and promiscuity.
Eden’s silence about the assault is cemented by both Kevin’s confident assurance that if she tells anyone, “No one will ever believe you. You know that. No one. Not ever,” and a chillingly believable death threat. For the remainder of Eden’s freshman year, she withdraws from her family and becomes increasingly full of hatred for Kevin and the world she feels failed to protect her. But when a friend mentions that she’s “reinventing” herself, Eden embarks on a hopeful plan to do the same. She begins her sophomore year with new clothes and friendly smiles for her fellow students, which attract the romantic attentions of a kind senior athlete. But, bizarrely, Kevin’s younger sister goes on a smear campaign to label Eden a “totally slutty disgusting whore,” which sends Eden back toward self-destruction. Eden narrates in a tightly focused present tense how she withdraws again from nearly everyone and attempts to find comfort (or at least oblivion) through a series of nearly anonymous sexual encounters. This self-centeredness makes her relationships with other characters feel underdeveloped and even puzzling at times. Absent ethnic and cultural markers, Eden and her family and classmates are likely default white.
Eden’s emotionally raw narration is compelling despite its solipsism. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: March 22, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-4935-9
Page Count: 384
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
Categories: TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES
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