A tale with deft plot turns, a relatable young protagonist, and well-drawn secondary fantasy characters.
In Flanagan’s YA series starter, a young teen enters a fantastical realm and discovers the mystery behind her own existence.
All 14-year-old AnnaGrey England wants is to get through a school day without being bullied for being different. It isn’t because of her red hair and “pale-as-dawn” skin—it’s her glow-in-the-dark green eyes with black pupils shaped like half-moons. Her mother’s explanation that it’s a genetic condition rings false, and her father, who lives elsewhere, tells AnnaGrey what seem like fairy tales. (At least her parents’ unusually long canine teeth skipped a generation, she thinks.) In this thoroughly enjoyable, well-crafted, first-person fantasy, AnnaGrey’s journey toward self-discovery and self-acceptance begins after her nemesis, a boy named Cross Silverstone, dubs her “Freakenstein.” After she retreats into the forbidden Wildwood, she discovers Iris—a gentle, horselike creature with a rainbow mane, golden hooves, impressive antlers, and eyes like stars—and a secret gate to a realm of beings called aeobanachs who can shift between human and animal form. AnnaGrey soon finds herself in the company of a furred, feathered, and antlered rebel faction seeking to unseat the usurper on the realm’s Constellation throne. Can this have anything to do with her own strange eyes, her secretive parents, and the “constellation” of freckles on her arms? Just when it seems obvious where the narrative is going, the author defies expectations by taking readers in a different direction. Flanagan enriches the mix with additional colorful characters and a plot that explains the significance of antlers, feathers, and fairy tales and features betrayals, lost loves, and noble sacrifices. (The selfless actions of two characters are genuinely moving, as is a surprising act of faith taken by AnnaGrey’s only school friend.) AnnaGrey’s internal struggle with new truths feels authentic, as does her difficulty in finding confidence when “I can’t even stand up to my own parents or the mean boy at school.” The welcome open ending sends a clear signal that AnnaGrey’s saga will continue.
A tale with deft plot turns, a relatable young protagonist, and well-drawn secondary fantasy characters.Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2023
ISBN: 9781633738492
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Young Dragons
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations.
Magic, mystery, and love intertwine and invite in this newest take on the “enchanted circus” trope.
Sisters raised by their abusive father, a governor of a colonial backwater in a world vaguely reminiscent of the late 18th century, Scarlett and Donatella each long for something more. Scarlett, olive-skinned, dark of hair and attitude, longs for Caraval, the fabled, magical circus helmed by the possibly evil Master Legend Santos, while blonde, sunny Tella finds comfort in drink and the embraces of various men. A slightly awkward start, with inconsistencies of attitude and setting, rapidly smooths out when they, along with handsome “golden-brown” sailor Julian, flee to Caraval on the eve of Scarlett’s arranged marriage. Tella disappears, and Scarlett must navigate a nighttime world of magic to find her. Caraval delights the senses: beautiful and scary, described in luscious prose, this is a show readers will wish they could enter. Dresses can be purchased for secrets or days of life; clocks can become doors; bridges move: this is an inventive and original circus, laced with an edge of horror. A double love story, one sensual romance and the other sisterly loyalty, anchors the plot, but the real star here is Caraval and its secrets.
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-09525-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
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