As a stand-alone or as part of the Tyme series, eminently worthwhile.
After selfish Prince Syrah is transformed into a frog, he becomes a better person.
Eighth and youngest child of the king of the Olive Isles, handsome, effortlessly athletic Syrah is vain, inconsiderate, uncaring, and rude. As a joke he kisses Delicata Gourd from neighboring Yellow Country. But it wasn’t a joke to serious, sincere Deli, who writes Syrah a love letter in return. Syrah’s response? Harshly rejecting her. A year later, Syrah’s interested in Deli, but she (understandably and wisely) rejects him. Incensed, Syrah makes Deli’s love letter public. Rather than face the consequences of his dishonorable actions, Syrah runs off, makes an incautious wish, and is transformed into a frog. Fifteen months and many adventures later, the third-person narration chronicles frog Syrah’s slow recognition of his flaws even as he simultaneously works to uncover dangerous secrets that threaten Yellow Country. He teams up with the only person he can communicate with, Harrow Steelcut, Deli’s former suitor. Their eventual triumph is satisfying, but the friendship that blooms between the two former enemies and Syrah’s internal transformation are the most gratifying of all. The abundance of brown-skinned characters, including all three principals, is great to see in a fantasy. Morrison deftly chronicles Syrah’s changing heart—a believably long and nuanced journey—and retools both “The Frog Prince”and other fairy tales in interesting, original, and grim ways.
As a stand-alone or as part of the Tyme series, eminently worthwhile. (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: March 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-11392-1
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Levine/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A literal cliffhanger leaves eager readers hanging; next stop: Greece—and Tartarus.
After waging two separate quests (The Lost Hero, 2010; The Son of Neptune, 2011), the Greek and Roman demigods of Riordan’s Heroes of Olympus quintet join forces.
With his now-trademark zero-to-60 acceleration, the author engineers a ghostly possession to set Greeks and Romans at odds and initiates the Prophecy of the Seven, hurtling Annabeth, Percy, Piper, Leo, Hazel, Frank and Jason into a pell-mell flight on the magical trireme Argo II. They seek the titular Mark of Athena, which they hope will provide the key to defeating the vengeful Earth mother, Gaea, or at least some of her giant offspring. As the trireme crosses the country, the pace drags while the demigods sort out relationships and work to figure out both cryptic prophecy and nightmare visions. With sweethearts Annabeth and Percy once again united, much of the tension that powered earlier books is gone. Once the Argo II leaves the United States, though, the pace picks up, and the comically instructive set pieces Riordan’s so good at emerge. A Luddite god rails against what he calls the “b-book,” which displaced the far superior scroll technology; Annabeth gets a crash course in the cult of Mithros far below the streets of Rome. Here, Riordan’s infectious love for his subject matter really comes through, even as he takes some real risks with his characters.
A literal cliffhanger leaves eager readers hanging; next stop: Greece—and Tartarus. (glossary) (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4231-4060-3
Page Count: 608
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Oct. 9, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Hope prevails in this story, filled with a resounding authenticity.
Terrifying statistics run through Zoey’s mind day and night, controlling her decisions.
After her father dies in a bus accident, anxiety-ridden 12-year-old Zoey Turner, who presents white, spends her summer escaping into the familiar world of her favorite fantasy series, the Magic of Ever After by Raven M. Wells. When a book signing ends in a panic attack, Zoey receives a pencil allegedly belonging to Wells herself. Zoey writes a story with the pencil, which seems innocent enough until the next day, when the events of her story happen in real life. Always the type to practice extreme caution, the nervous seventh grader asks Derek Beal, the redheaded president of a fantasy club with his own anxieties and fears, for help in how best to use her new magic. She keeps the pencil a secret from everyone else in her life, even her Lebanese American best friend, Lena. Zoey fears losing Lena when secrets and fears begin to separate them. As Zoey sharpens the pencil with each new story, her chances of writing the perfect ending dwindle away. She’ll need to find her own magic before it’s too late. This emotional narrative skillfully informs readers about anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder and will comfort anyone facing challenges similar to the main characters’, reminding them to look for the pockets of joy in every day and inspiring them to discover their own forgotten magic.
Hope prevails in this story, filled with a resounding authenticity. (Fantasy. 10-13)Pub Date: Jan. 14, 2025
ISBN: 9781665952255
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2024
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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