Predictable
An outcast must save the boy she loves from a dangerous labyrinth.
In a future world ravaged by drought and plague, the desert city of Trinnea is protected from the wastelands (and its inhabitants) by a wall and a treacherous labyrinth. Its most valued citizens have skills such as telekinesis, levitation, and invisibility. Seventeen-year-old Zadie Kalvers’ dark hair and tan skin set her apart from her blonde, pale half sister, Chantry, as does her status as a Blank. Unlike Chantry, Zadie grew up in indentured servitude, and her lack of skills and the brands on her palms label her as an outcast. When Zadie’s best friend (and love interest), the uber-skilled, blond-haired “Limitless” Landon Everhart, disappears after a tussle with labyrinth dweller Dex, aka the Devil of Trinnea, the town is taken over by vicious outsiders and falls under a strange spell—and it’s as if Landon never existed. To save him, Zadie asks Dex to guide her through the maze to ask Trinnea’s immortal Great Leader for help. Even before Zadie’s pitfall-studded journey, readers will likely predict that the olive-skinned Dex isn’t quite a devil and that Zadie’s world will inevitably be turned upside down. Darker shades of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland creep in, but few clues are offered about the world beyond Trinnea until the heavily revelatory finale. Overall, this type of thing has been done better. A cliffhanger ending leaves room for a sequel.
Predictable . (Dystopian. 14-adult)Pub Date: June 4, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-63583-034-7
Page Count: 270
Publisher: Flux
Review Posted Online: March 6, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
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
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations.
Magic, mystery, and love intertwine and invite in this newest take on the “enchanted circus” trope.
Sisters raised by their abusive father, a governor of a colonial backwater in a world vaguely reminiscent of the late 18th century, Scarlett and Donatella each long for something more. Scarlett, olive-skinned, dark of hair and attitude, longs for Caraval, the fabled, magical circus helmed by the possibly evil Master Legend Santos, while blonde, sunny Tella finds comfort in drink and the embraces of various men. A slightly awkward start, with inconsistencies of attitude and setting, rapidly smooths out when they, along with handsome “golden-brown” sailor Julian, flee to Caraval on the eve of Scarlett’s arranged marriage. Tella disappears, and Scarlett must navigate a nighttime world of magic to find her. Caraval delights the senses: beautiful and scary, described in luscious prose, this is a show readers will wish they could enter. Dresses can be purchased for secrets or days of life; clocks can become doors; bridges move: this is an inventive and original circus, laced with an edge of horror. A double love story, one sensual romance and the other sisterly loyalty, anchors the plot, but the real star here is Caraval and its secrets.
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-09525-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
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