A bloody, action-packed reward for the series’ loyal fans.
With the world outside the FAYZ in sight and stakes rising, characters take drastic actions for survival and redemption.
As the barrier has become clear, the FAYZ kids gain an audience, creating anxiety about performance as they worry about how they will be perceived by the adults in the normal world. Kids now communicating with their parents and the media have renewed hope that the end of the FAYZ is near, and they act accordingly. Others deduce that Gaia is up to something big, the endgame, now that the gaiaphage has taken a human form. They restructure leadership so Sam and Caine can team up to try to stop Gaia before it’s too late. Sure enough, Gaia can feel little Pete weakening without his physical form and plans to doom the human race once Pete fades enough for the barrier to fall. But first Gaia must prevent Pete from taking a physical form again by trying to slaughter his potential hosts—the FAYZ kids. However, Gaia must kill judiciously, as the powered kids’ link to the gaiaphage is revealed and explained. The answers to the FAYZ mysteries sometimes come in less-than-graceful exposition, but dedicated series readers will be more concerned with satisfying their curiosity. Multiple chapters of aftermath wrap up the series better than an epilogue could.
A bloody, action-packed reward for the series’ loyal fans. (Science fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 2, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-144918-5
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 26, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2013
An entertaining and atmospheric, though sometimes clumsy, exploration of the true cost of beauty.
In this retelling of a classic, a drama student’s obsession with beauty leads her down a dark—and possibly deadly—path.
Eighteen-year-old Penny Paxton is beginning her first year at Dorian Drama Academy in Edinburgh, Scotland, where she hopes to follow in her starlet mother’s footsteps—and earn the love that her mother has never seemed to offer. At Dorian, Penny is mentored by Royal Shakespeare Company legend Orlagh Camran, who makes her the compelling offer of a portrait by the Masked Painter, a mysterious artist with the ability to gift his subjects everlasting youth and beauty. But shortly after Penny’s portrait is complete, several of the Masked Painter’s subjects are found murdered. Fearing that she’s made a terrible mistake and may become the next victim, Penny, who’s gay, begins to investigate the murders with the help of an unlikely ally. As she attempts to uncover the truth surrounding the Masked Painter and the murders, she’s forced to reckon with her own toxic obsession with beauty. This chilling, atmospheric novel, inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray, is entertaining and full of twists, though some of the reveals feel contrived and some questions are left unanswered. The plot unravels at a leisurely pace but eventually builds to an action-packed (if somewhat convoluted) conclusion. Most characters are cued white.
An entertaining and atmospheric, though sometimes clumsy, exploration of the true cost of beauty. (content note, author’s note, bonus scene) (Fantasy thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: May 26, 2026
ISBN: 9781250346797
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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