A treat for series fans and new readers alike.
In Williams’ graphic novel adaptation of Stiefvater’s 2012 series opener, Blue and her Raven boys go on a quest to find an ancient Welsh king.
Growing up with psychics, Blue, who doesn’t possess these powers, has always been told that if she kissed her true love, he’d die. When Gansey’s spirit appears to her on St. Mark’s Eve, Blue is set on a collision course with her destiny. The still-living Gansey and his friends attend the posh Aglionby Academy. While he can’t always escape the perception of being a condescending rich boy, Gansey, influenced by a near-death experience seven years earlier, throws himself fully into finding the sleeping king, Owain Glendower. Searching for ley lines that will lead them to Glendower, Gansey, Blue, and the others get swept up in a race to activate the lines before those with dark motives can seize the ancient magic for themselves. Though some of the illustrations don’t convey the full gravitas of some moments in the original, others adroitly capture the humor, dread, and camaraderie that made the novel so intriguing and endearing. Newcomers to the story may not catch the significance of certain developments, but other elements, like the town of Henrietta and Gansey’s journal, gain extra life and added dimensions thanks to Milledge’s expressive and nostalgic artwork, which is enhanced by Ko’s luminous colors. Blue has brown skin and dark curly hair, and the boys present as white.
A treat for series fans and new readers alike. (Graphic fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: July 29, 2025
ISBN: 9780593621172
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2025
PERSPECTIVES
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 fast-paced dip into the possibility of a world without human emotions.
A teenage girl refuses a medical procedure to remove her heart and her emotions.
June lives in a future in which a reclusive Scientist has pioneered a procedure to remove hearts, thus eliminating all “sadness, anxiety, and anger.” The downside is that it numbs pleasurable feelings, too. Most people around June have had the procedure done; for young people, in part because doing so helps them become more focused and successful. Before long, June is the only one among her peers who still has her heart. When her parents decide it’s time for her to have the procedure so she can become more focused in school, June hatches a plan to pretend to go through with it. She also investigates a way to restore her beloved sister’s heart, joining forces with Max, a classmate who’s also researching the Scientist because he has started to feel again despite having had his heart removed. The pair’s journey is somewhat rushed and improbable, as is the resolution they achieve. However, the story’s message feels relevant and relatable to teens, and the artwork effectively sets the scene, with bursts of color popping throughout an otherwise black-and-white landscape, reflecting the monochromatic, heartless reality of June’s world. There are no ethnic or cultural markers in the text; June has paper-white skin and dark hair, and Max has dark skin and curly black hair.
A fast-paced dip into the possibility of a world without human emotions. (Graphic speculative fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: June 13, 2023
ISBN: 9780063116214
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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