A refreshingly vulnerable and candid protagonist cements this story’s appeal.
A teen’s life goes topsy-turvy thanks to secrets, lies, and a romantic bargain with a crush.
Falencia “Fancy” Augustine is a 15-year-old Black girl of Haitian descent. Fancy doesn’t do well with change and also has issues with focusing, which have resulted in her falling behind in several classes. She generally feels like an outcast except when she’s with her best friend, Tilly Fischer. When Fancy learns that Tilly has kept secrets from her—she has a new boyfriend and was invited to the exclusive birthday party of Imani Parker, the most popular girl in school—she’s thrown off kilter. The threat of being sent to Haiti if her grades don’t improve also hangs over her head (“‘vacation Haiti’ and ‘sent-back Haiti’ are two very different things”). Anxiety attacks, fast-spreading “Voodoo witch” rumors, and impulsive decisions lead Fancy to agree to a deal with Imani: She can come to the party; she just needs to show up with a boyfriend. Fancy persuades Rahim Robinson, her crush, to fake date her in exchange for a potion. But how will she untangle this complicated web? Arnold’s multidimensional lead organically pulls readers into the story: Fancy is flawed, self-aware, and charming, and her open and direct nature and often-humorous delivery are appealing. This novel also thoughtfully explores themes of friendship, romance, identity, and body image. Most cast members are Black.
A refreshingly vulnerable and candid protagonist cements this story’s appeal. (Romance. 12-17)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9780316568005
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
Dark, seductive, but over-the-top: Characters and book alike will enthrall those who choose to play.
Garber returns to the world of bestseller Caraval (2017), this time with the focus on younger, more daring sister Donatella.
Valenda, capital of the empire, is host to the second of Legend’s magical games in a single year, and while Scarlett doesn’t want to play again, blonde Tella is eager for a chance to prove herself. She is haunted by the memory of her death in the last game and by the cursed Deck of Destiny she used as a child which foretold her loveless future. Garber has changed many of the rules of her expanding world, which now appears to be infused with magic and evil Fates. Despite a weak plot and ultraviolet prose (“He tasted like exquisite nightmares and stolen dreams, like the wings of fallen angels, and bottles of fresh moonlight.”), this is a tour de force of imagination. Themes of love, betrayal, and the price of magic (and desire) swirl like Caraval’s enchantments, and Dante’s sensuous kisses will thrill readers as much as they do Tella. The convoluted machinations of the Prince of Hearts (one of the Fates), Legend, and even the empress serve as the impetus for Tella’s story and set up future volumes which promise to go bigger. With descriptions focusing primarily on clothing, characters’ ethnicities are often indeterminate.
Dark, seductive, but over-the-top: Characters and book alike will enthrall those who choose to play. (glossary) (Fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: May 29, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-250-09531-2
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Despite the well-meaning warmth, a wearying plod.
Can a 17-year-old with her first girlfriend prevent real-life folks from discovering her online fandoms?
Cass is proudly queer, happily fat, and extremely secretive about being a fan who role-plays on Discord. Back in middle school, she had what she calls a gaming addiction, playing “The Sims” so much her parents had to take the game away. Now, turning to her role-play friends to cope with her fighting parents, she worries that people will judge her for her fannishness and online life. To be fair, her grades are suffering. And sure, maybe she’s missed a college application deadline. Also, her mom has suddenly left Minneapolis and moved to Maine to be with a man she met online. But on the other hand, Cass is finally dating her amazingly cute longtime crush, Taylor. Pansexual Taylor is a gamer, a little bit punk, White like Cass, and so, so great—but she still can’t help comparing her to Rowan, Cass’ online best friend and role-playing ship partner. But Rowan doesn’t want to be a dirty little secret and doesn’t see why Cass can’t be honest about this part of her life. The inevitable train wreck of her lies looms on the horizon for months in an overlong morality play building to the climax that includes tidy resolutions to all the character arcs that are quite heartwarming but, in the case of Cass’ estranged mother, narratively unearned.
Despite the well-meaning warmth, a wearying plod. (Fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-06-324332-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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