"It's not right in the United States of America that a little kid shouldn't be safe in school," but after hearing a sample of Meg and Charles Wallace Murry's conversation ("Do you suppose I'll ever be a double Ph.D. like you, Mother?") we suspect that their peers' dislike of them may be based on more than brute anti-intellectualism. Anyway, genius first-grader Charles Wallace is deeply involved with his mother's discovery of mitochondria and farandolae; in fact, he's suffering from mitochondritis, and his illness is an important part of the plans of the evil Echthroi who have torn a hole in the galaxy. A mystical teacher, Mr. Blajeny, and a cherubim Proginoskes warn Meg that to save her brother she must learn to love even the unsympathetic school principal Mr. Jenkins (who's kind of like Salinger's fat lady). Having accomplished this task and thereby successfully differentiated Mr. Jenkins from two Echthroi impersonators, Meg journeys with Calvin and Mr. Jenkin's fight down into Charles Wallace's cells to lecture his warring farandolae on "the great plan" and every organism's "unique share in the freedom of creation." The audacity of Ms. L'Engle's mytho-scientific imagination and her undoubted storytelling abilities keep the reader involved in Meg's quest, but one wonders whether its chief appeal doesn't lie in the all too natural desire to believe that our difficulties, like the Murrys', are personal attacks by the forces of cosmic evil — who doesn't like to speculate that their nasty old school principal is really an agent of the devil? Unfortunately, Meg learns to love the universe with unconvincing ease, and L'Engle seems to be straining unusually hard to relate what's wrong with America to the double-talk phenomenon of mitochondria and farandolae.
Pub Date: May 7, 1973
ISBN: 0374384436
Page Count: 232
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1973
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
A sexy, swoony, action-packed duology opener.
Teens from different social spheres collaborate, investigating magical mysteries while navigating their shared attraction.
When 18-year-old Wren Hayes doesn’t receive a magical gift from the three Fates—Dawn, Day, and Dusk—she’s shunned by Aurilian high society. Unbeknownst to Wren, 19-year-old Damien, a thief from the Void (a part of the city she’s forbidden to visit) has taken the locket that should have been her gift from the Fates. He’s shocked to discover a photo of himself inside. Using his own Fates’ gift—a mirror with powers of invisibility—Damien infiltrates a party and steals a silver watch from a guest. But his gift isn’t fully functioning, and Wren tackles him, sending them both tumbling into the mud. They tussle and exchange flirty barbs before Damien makes off with his prize, losing Wren’s locket in the process. Unsure why someone from the Void would possess such a gift and determined to uncover why hers was “unjustly kept” from her, Wren tracks down Damien. Seeking answers of his own, he agrees to work with her. Their well-crafted dance of desire and restraint is on point (“She stifled a stunned noise as I placed a menacing kiss—a mere graze of my lips—on the back of her hand”), melding seamlessly with the plot. The story addresses sexism, privilege, and wealth while hurtling the characters into a whirlwind of action and disturbing revelations. Wren presents white, and Damien has tanned skin.
A sexy, swoony, action-packed duology opener. (map) (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2026
ISBN: 9798217117215
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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