Mind-bending and incisive.
In a declining world in which humans can access the power of banished demigods through self-sacrifice, a girl with a secret becomes a catalyst for change.
Long ago, the humans who served and sacrificed to the Noble and the Vile overthrew them and claimed their magic. Now, the Crown, peerage, and common council maintain control over the noblewrought and vilewrought with intricate contracts and magical bindings. Lorena is the only living dualwrought—possessing both creative and destructive wrights—besides the Crown herself. Unlike the Crown, she’s unbound and untrained. Free from the limitations of formal contracts, Lorena prefers nonphysical sacrifices like memories over gory self-mutilation. After a chance encounter with the Crown’s infamous vilewrought heir, Alistair, lands her in his laboratory researching a mysterious Door that is hungry for human sacrifices, Lorena must choose between the quiet life she’s built and the values she holds dear. The text’s anti-capitalist thrust is grounded in depictions of extreme economic stratification, including Lorena’s memories of childhood poverty and her mother’s untimely death, as well as her growing awareness of how those who crave power like hers don’t grasp the sacrifices required. Excellent asexual representation in Lorena, rich worldbuilding, political intrigue, and a cast of prickly, passionate characters round out the satisfyingly complex plot. Particularly masterful are the shifts in Lorena’s narrative perspective that reflect the sacrifices of significant memories. A White default is assumed for primary characters.
Mind-bending and incisive. (map) (Dark fantasy. 16-adult)Pub Date: July 6, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4926-7925-7
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
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
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.
Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868138
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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