Ripe with sarcasm and complicated relationships, an action- and angst-packed installment reminiscent of Buffy and Neil...
Forces of light and darkness clash in this urban-fantasy sequel to The Girl at Midnight (2015).
Already filled with previous vessels’ memories, Echo struggles with her new roles as host to the firebird and fugitive or figurehead in a long-lasting supernatural war between the birdlike Avicen and dragonlike Drakharin. The white girl has survived on the fringes of New York City’s magical society as a thief and runaway, but now she must lead a ragtag crew on a peripatetic quest to understand both the firebird’s and the feud’s origins and to battle the opposing dark force she inadvertently released, the kuçedra. As the shadows attack, infect, and trigger disasters, Echo also finds an enemy in Drakharin usurper Tanith, sweetheart Caius’ power-mad twin. Quick to quip, pop-culture savvy, and prone to lexicographical musings—a hazard of living in a library—Echo is a grudging heroine, fearful of endangering her friends and reluctant to assume political power, but typical Chosen One agonizing and an obligatory love triangle diminish her distinctive humor. With minimal plot progress and a scattered, misty mythology, personal journeys and romances—heterosexual, homosexual, and interspecies—take precedence over worldbuilding. Echo and her fellow narrators accomplish little but anguish a lot, enduring action sequences with brief respite in tender (if melodramatic) moments.
Ripe with sarcasm and complicated relationships, an action- and angst-packed installment reminiscent of Buffy and Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere. (Urban fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: July 12, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-385-74467-6
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2016
This gloriously spectacular finale steals the show.
Following the magical competition of Where Dreams Descend (2020), Kallia experiences a mirror world where it’s difficult to separate illusions from reality.
After falling through a mirror with her mentor, Jack, Kallia enters a dangerous underworld filled with illusions. Magician Daron Demarco desperately searches for her, hoping the trail will also lead to his lost sister who disappeared into a mirror years ago. His path is no easy one, and while looking for the Zarose Gate, Daron unravels countless secrets and mysteries at every turn—despite being blocked by the influential, supposedly peacekeeping Patrons who are led by his aunt. Meanwhile, Kallia and Jack end up in a bustling alternate version of the city of Glorian, created by the Dealer, a powerful magician who reveals that Jack is not what he seems. Though fierce Kallia has lost her magic, she joins a troupe of dazzling performers, all the while seeking a way to escape back to the true world. The stunning fantasy worldbuilding started in the first book continues to delight, but this time the rich, sensational world of the other Glorian offers even more to explore. Entertaining new characters, clever dueling magic, and a touch of romance cap off an unforgettable tale. Kallia and several other main characters are brown-skinned.
This gloriously spectacular finale steals the show. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-20432-5
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
A deeply moving account of love in its many forms.
A senior contends with first love and heartache in this spectacular debut.
Sensitive, smart Frank Li is under a lot of pressure. His Korean immigrant parents have toiled ceaselessly, running a convenience store in a mostly black and Latinx Southern California neighborhood, for their children’s futures. Frank’s older sister fulfilled their parents’ dreams—making it to Harvard—but when she married a black man, she was disowned. So when Frank falls in love with a white classmate, he concocts a scheme with Joy, the daughter of Korean American family friends, who is secretly seeing a Chinese American boy: Frank and Joy pretend to fall for each other while secretly sneaking around with their real dates. Through rich and complex characterization that rings completely true, the story highlights divisions within the Korean immigrant community and between communities of color in the U.S., cultural rifts separating immigrant parents and American-born teens, and the impact on high school peers of society’s entrenched biases. Yoon’s light hand with dialogue and deft use of illustrative anecdotes produce a story that illuminates weighty issues by putting a compassionate human face on struggles both universal and particular to certain identities. Frank’s best friend is black and his white girlfriend’s parents are vocal liberals; Yoon’s unpacking of the complexity of the racial dynamics at play is impressive—and notably, the novel succeeds equally well as pure romance.
A deeply moving account of love in its many forms. (Fiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-984812-20-9
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
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