A charming love story that delves into relationships and regrets with a touch of magic.
A high school graduate plans to tell her best friend that she loves him during her annual summer vacation to California but winds up wishing she could have a do-over instead.
Dixie Mulligan arrives in Cielo Springs with a plan: forget about the fight she had with her parents, help her aunt Kate fix the fire damage to her 110-year-old movie theater, and tell her best friend, Sawyer, that she loves him. The problem is that Dixie hasn’t spoken to Sawyer since he visited her in New York over spring break—and everything between them “exploded.” But when Dixie sees Sawyer kissing another girl, she decides to use her Rewind. Each member of the Mulligan family has a magical gift that allows them to redo one moment from the past year. Dixie submits her application, and if it’s approved, her Rewind will go into effect four days after she watches her Movie, which is “like watching secret CCTV footage of yourself”—showing the alternate timeline of her life. But will this be enough to save their relationship? In this story that’s full of secrets, surprises, and unexpected twists, Dixie and Sawyer’s relationship isn’t the only one affected by her decision. The worldbuilding, including the Rewind rules, is carefully explained, and the chapters open with excerpts from the Mulligans’ writings about their magic. The main characters are cued white.
A charming love story that delves into relationships and regrets with a touch of magic. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: June 17, 2025
ISBN: 9781250289728
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
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
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
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