The hunt for a mysterious yellowwood box becomes a Capetown teenager's quest for identity in this busy story from the author of Crocodile Burning (1992). Jay's grandfather has died, leaving no explanation of why, ten years earlier, he suddenly disappeared, abandoning his family and a prosperous business. In hopes of an answer, Jay gathers an assortment of companions, including Levi, a secretive 9-year-old with telltale bruises on his face, and sets out in his grandfather's ancient van to track down a storage box that the old man left to him. The search takes Jay from oily Uncle Peter's posh suburban house to a hut in the Knysna Forest, with stops in a township and at a home for abandoned children. Meanwhile, it takes on symbolic meaning for Jay, who seeks not only clues to his family's past but also direction in his own life. Williams draws random plot elements from the story of Jason and the Golden Fleece and shoehorns in several subplots—Jay's senile grandmother takes to swallowing silverware; he learns that Uncle Peter has not only had a relationship with his mother (oddly, Jay sees her as guiltless) but has been misusing trust funds that are rightfully his; and Levi is ultimately beaten to death by his mother's abusive boyfriend. The box turns out to contain legal documents plus almost 200 stories, all unfinished—his grandfather's real legacy and the spark that sets Jay on the road to becoming a writer. Some poignant moments and a rather dark sense of humor help to tie the disparate elements together. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: July 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-525-67470-5
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1994
With a refreshingly original concept, this substantial fantasy, the first in a duology, is an undeniable page-turner
In Tiny Pretty Things co-author Clayton’s solo debut, beauty comes at a price.
On their joint 16th birthday, Camellia and her five sisters are sent out to restore beauty to Orléans, where everybody is born gray and ugly. They’ve been training for this their whole lives. As Belles, the sisters can use their magic to transform the citizens of Orléans from their original states. For the right price, Belles can grant any desired look. When Camellia secures the coveted spot of Her Majesty’s favorite, it seems as if her dreams have come true. As the most powerful, sought-out Belle, she is in charge of the royal family’s looks. However, the princess is insatiable in her quest for beauty and will do anything to get it—even if it means endangering the Belles and the kingdom—and Camellia may be the only one who can stop her. Not only that, but Camellia finds herself slowly uncovering the secrets of the Belles’ origin, and it’s not as pretty as she was taught. With wonderfully descriptive language, Clayton builds a grand and lavish world, carefully chipping away at the veneer to reveal its dark, sinister interior. In a world where anyone can change their skin color as often as they can change their hair color, race is fluid. Camellia is brown, and her sisters are various shades of brown and pale.
With a refreshingly original concept, this substantial fantasy, the first in a duology, is an undeniable page-turner (. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4847-2849-9
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Freeform/Disney
Review Posted Online: Nov. 12, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2017
SEEN & HEARD
Whether you came for the lore or the love, perfection.
Broken people, complicated families, magic, and Faerie politics: Black’s back.
After the tumultuous ending to the last volume (marriage, exile, and the seeming collapse of all her plots), Jude finds herself in the human world, which lacks appeal despite a childhood spent longing to go back. The price of her upbringing becomes clear: A human raised in the multihued, multiformed, always capricious Faerie High Court by the man who killed her parents, trained for intrigue and combat, recruited to a spy organization, and ultimately the power behind the coup and the latest High King, Jude no longer understands how to exist happily in a world that isn’t full of magic and danger. A plea from her estranged twin sends her secretly back to Faerie, where things immediately come to a boil with Cardan (king, nemesis, love interest) and all the many political strands Jude has tugged on for the past two volumes. New readers will need to go back to The Cruel Prince (2018) to follow the complexities—political and personal side plots abound—but the legions of established fans will love every minute of this lushly described, tightly plotted trilogy closer. Jude might be traumatized and emotionally unhealthy, but she’s an antihero worth cheering on. There are few physical descriptions of humans and some queer representation.
Whether you came for the lore or the love, perfection. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Nov. 19, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-316-31042-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2019
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