Enchanting.
Four young strangers from different corners of Haven must trust one another in order to save the world.
A magic gold thread presents itself to each of them to follow into an outside world they have been taught to fear. Child soldier Shenli Zhao was forced into service to save his family’s honor. Wren Barrow is a young witch whose Seer grandmother told her to find him. Blue (he has no other name) sacrificed everything for the people he loves and was transformed into a dragon. His rider, River Rowan, was to be the youngest Lead Harvester in the history of her people, until she was tied to Blue. War looms on the horizon, the dragons are asleep, and only the tweens working together can put things right. The novel pulls readers in from the beginning with well-thought-out worldbuilding that offers many surprises. Chapters from rotating perspectives give insight into each child and their different societies. Shenli was raised to hate magic and dragons; Wren’s people have companion Magics. Dragons are a distant concept for Blue, who possesses no magic; River loves her garden of magical plants. Joining forces means lessons in rejecting the lies and mistrust that come from not understanding others’ perspectives and learning to see strengths in those different than you. This emotionally resonant narrative set in a racially diverse world is well paced overall, though the heroes take a while to come together, making the end feel a bit rushed.
Enchanting. (map) (Fantasy. 8-13)Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-48237-7
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Labyrinth Road
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2022
A solid debut: fluent, funny and eminently sequel-worthy.
Inventively tweaking a popular premise, Jensen pits two Incredibles-style families with superpowers against each other—until a new challenge rises to unite them.
The Johnsons invariably spit at the mere mention of their hated rivals, the Baileys. Likewise, all Baileys habitually shake their fists when referring to the Johnsons. Having long looked forward to getting a superpower so that he too can battle his clan’s nemeses, Rafter Bailey is devastated when, instead of being able to fly or something else cool, he acquires the “power” to strike a match on soft polyester. But when hated classmate Juanita Johnson turns up newly endowed with a similarly bogus power and, against all family tradition, they compare notes, it becomes clear that something fishy is going on. Both families regard themselves as the heroes and their rivals as the villains. Someone has been inciting them to fight each other. Worse yet, that someone has apparently developed a device that turns real superpowers into silly ones. Teaching themselves on the fly how to get past their prejudice and work together, Rafter, his little brother, Benny, and Juanita follow a well-laid-out chain of clues and deductions to the climactic discovery of a third, genuinely nefarious family, the Joneses, and a fiendishly clever scheme to dispose of all the Baileys and Johnsons at once. Can they carry the day?
A solid debut: fluent, funny and eminently sequel-worthy. (Adventure. 10-12)Pub Date: Jan. 21, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-06-220961-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
Enigmatic enemies, sabotage, space travel, and short, bone-wracking bits of time travel make for a banging adventure.
All remaining humans are leaving Mars for a distant planet, but departure day goes sideways.
The “burning husk” of Earth fell into the sun five years ago, and Mars is about to become uninhabitable. The Scorpius leaves today with the last 100 million passengers. Thirteen-year-old Liam’s sad to go: he was born on Mars and identifies as a Martian, unconcerned that his Earth heritage is “Thai, Irish, Nigerian, Texan, and like ten more.” His parents and his friend Phoebe’s parents are rushing the final research for terraforming their destination planet when a radioactive explosion, complete with mushroom cloud, blows the lab to bits. The Scorpius departs with Liam’s sister and the 100 million aboard, leaving Liam, Phoebe, and a highly skilled robot functionally alone (their parents are alive but unconscious)—can they catch the Scorpius? Emerson’s story is fast, exciting, and terrifying, involving spacecraft of many sizes, travel through space, more explosions, an alien gadget that shows Liam the near future (and that extraterrestrials exist! Humans hadn’t known), and some shadowy characters. Who’s the blue ET chronologist murdered in Scene 1? Who’s trying to exterminate humankind, and why? How many unrelated ET groups are out there? A stunning reveal at the end will leave readers gasping for the next installment.
Enigmatic enemies, sabotage, space travel, and short, bone-wracking bits of time travel make for a banging adventure. (Science fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-230671-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Walden Pond Press/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2016
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