As wild and refreshing as an ocean storm, if similarly tumultuous.
A shipwreck brings a brave new world in this Tempest retelling.
Moss and Pa are the last two humans, stranded on an island until Pa’s Experiment with magical stormflowers can restore the drowned world. Fishboy Cal arrived a few years ago, first a playmate and now a budding romantic partner for Moss, but he rejects Pa’s post-apocalyptic narrative and yearns to escape. Moss is ethnically ambiguous—she is tan-skinned and green-eyed, with dark curly hair—in contrast to Pa, who is white, but their reactions to dark-skinned Cal frustratingly replicate the latent imperialism of Shakespeare’s play: Moss (Miranda) and Pa (Prospero) name him Callan (Caliban) and teach him English but still consider him “Other.” Now 14 years old, Moss worries about her pollen-addicted, depressed Pa, her aging dog, and the pangs of puberty. When a storm brings blond-haired Finn—received as a “real” boy—Moss questions Pa’s creation myths and grapples with her resurfacing memories. Christopher (The Killing Woods, 2014, etc.) streamlines the Shakespearean tale, eliminating secondary characters and subplots and rendering the magic on the island ambiguous. Replacing Elizabethan English with an inventive modern (but peculiarly overhyphenated) form keeps the language poetic, florid, and descriptive, if still alien.
As wild and refreshing as an ocean storm, if similarly tumultuous. (Fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: July 31, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-545-94032-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Chicken House/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: April 29, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2018
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
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
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