A crowded but exciting and fun story of heroes and villains.
When a teenage New Yorker gains amazing powers, he must decide whether to use his newfound abilities for good or for personal gain.
In 1997, Queens native Rohan Chang has a lot on his plate, between family pressure to succeed academically and work at his brother’s pharmacy, racism at school and on the street, and trying to fit in among his fellow students. If that wasn’t enough, one day he finds that he has magical superpowers that include superspeed and teleportation. However, they also come with voices in his head that have different personalities. The loudest of these calls himself Nick the Brute and wants to tempt Rohan into violence and to use his powers for self-enrichment: “When you achieve control, total control, you’ll be invincible.” This is a lot for anyone to handle, of course; all Rohan aspired to do was to impress Amayah, a devout Christian girl on whom he has a crush. To make matters worse, there’s a serial killer on the loose in New York City, and Rohan may be the only one who can stop them; this becomes even more challenging when the murderer learns his identity and seek to destroy him. As Rohan discovers new powers, he struggles to learn how to use them properly. Also, the teen must learn to trust his friends and loved ones in the face of unimaginable dangers. Over the course of this book, Lee delivers an incredibly creative superhero fantasy tale that brings together elements of various cultures, as well as aspects of history and Christianity, into an exciting adventure. The vast, ever increasing number of superpowers feels somewhat excessive at times, but Lee does well to balance this out by showing how the protagonist gradually learns how to use them effectively. Similarly, the large cast of characters makes it challenging to fully appreciate the complexities of each one individually, but the central figures—particularly Rohan and Amayah—carry the story and give it heart. Overall, it’s an entertaining narrative that’s sure to delight genre fans.
A crowded but exciting and fun story of heroes and villains.Pub Date: Aug. 8, 2022
ISBN: 9781945316029
Page Count: 542
Publisher: Bowker
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
PERSPECTIVES
Briskly written soap with down-to-earth types, mostly without the lachrymose contrivances of Hannah’s previous titles...
Sisters in and out of love.
Meghann Dontess is a high-powered matrimonial lawyer in Seattle who prefers sex with strangers to emotional intimacy: a strategy bound to backfire sooner or later, warns her tough-talking shrink. It’s advice Meghann decides to ignore, along with the memories of her difficult childhood, neglectful mother, and younger sister. Though she managed to reunite Claire with Sam Cavenaugh (her father but not Meghann’s) when her mother abandoned both girls long ago, Meghann still feels guilty that her sister’s life doesn’t measure up, at least on her terms. Never married, Claire ekes out a living running a country campground with her dad and is raising her six-year-old daughter on her own. When she falls in love for the first time with an up-and-coming country musician, Meghann is appalled: Bobby Austin is a three-time loser at marriage—how on earth can Claire be so blind? Bobby’s blunt explanation doesn’t exactly satisfy the concerned big sister, who busies herself planning Claire’s dream wedding anyway. And, to relieve the stress, she beds various guys she picks up in bars, including Dr. Joe Wyatt, a neurosurgeon turned homeless drifter after the demise of his beloved wife Diane (whom he euthanized). When Claire’s awful headache turns out to be a kind of brain tumor known among neurologists as a “terminator,” Joe rallies. Turns out that Claire had befriended his wife on her deathbed, and now in turn he must try to save her. Is it too late? Will Meghann find true love at last?
Briskly written soap with down-to-earth types, mostly without the lachrymose contrivances of Hannah’s previous titles (Distant Shores, 2002, etc.). Kudos for skipping the snifflefest this time around.Pub Date: May 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-345-45073-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2003
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.
A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character.
Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters sent to and received from, among others, her brother, sister-in-law, children, former work associates, and, intriguingly, literary icons including Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Perhaps most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth.
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780593798430
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
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