A delicious treat for fairy-tale fans.
A “Snow White” retelling set in a relatively modern world bursts at the seams with magic and supernatural creatures.
Cami, the pampered 16-year-old daughter of the Vultusino clan, isn’t true Family, but a human girl adopted at a young age when Papa Vultusino rescued the badly abused child. She lives between worlds, going to school with other humans while socially involved in the world of the Seven, the most powerful and influential Families. Along with having no true place or past, her terrible stutter and passive, introspective nature deprive Cami of a true voice. Just as she comes to realize that her nightmares might be memories, Cami befriends the Vultusinos’ new gardener, Tor, a boy with the same scars she bears. She unravels the dangerous mystery of her past to make peace with who she is. Fairy-tale motifs are not limited to Cami—her best friends Ellie and Ruby reference Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood. This ambitious work makes a couple missteps: The prose aims for lush but sometimes stumbles into decadent, and the love interest is generically dark and sexy. More than compensating, the ambitious worldbuilding and alternate history are fully thought out and well-realized, sure to enchant readers patient enough to let them coalesce.
A delicious treat for fairy-tale fans. (Urban fantasy. 12 & up)Pub Date: April 4, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-59514-357-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
Exactly what the title promises.
A grieving teen’s devotion to romance films might ruin her chances at actual romance.
Liz Buxbaum has always adored rom-coms, not least for helping her still feel close to her screenwriter mother, who died when she was little. Liz hopes that her senior year might turn into a real-life romantic fantasy, as an old crush has moved back to town, cuter and nicer than ever. Surely she can get Michael to ask her to prom. If only Wes, the annoying boy next door, would help her with her scheming! This charming, fluffy concoction manages to pack into one goofy plot every conceivable trope, from fake dating to the makeover to the big misunderstanding. Creative, quirky, daydreaming Liz is just shy of an annoying stereotype, saved by a dry wit and unresolved grief and anger. Wes makes for a delightful bad boy with a good heart, and supporting characters—including a sassy best friend, a perfect popular rival, even a (not really) evil stepmother—all get the opportunity to transcend their roles. The only villain here is Liz’s lovelorn imagination, provoking her into foolish lies that cause actual hurt feelings; but she is sufficiently self-aware to make amends just in time for the most important trope of all: a blissfully happy ending. All characters seem to be White by default.
Exactly what the title promises. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6762-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK TO SCREEN
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
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