These tales are enchanting in both their realness and their whimsy
One mirror ties the stories of eight princesses together.
The princess glut in today’s media—especially the contemporary threads of the “girl power” ones, such as the entrepreneurial Tiana in Disney’s Princess and the Frog and the warrior princesses like said studio’s Mulan and Merida from Brave—might make readers roll their eyes at another. However, the author ties this enchanting European-heavy multicultural cast of preteen royalty together through the narrative device of a confidence-boosting enchanted mirror. It all begins when the looking glass, which once hung on an enchantress’s wall, flippantly tells its owner that it knows nothing about princesses’ attributes. The enchantress shrinks the mirror to compact-size and sends it on a time- and alternate-world–spanning adventure to places coded, from the characters’ names such as Héloïse and Ellen, Leila al’Aqbar, Abayome, Tica, Anya, and Zarah, and other details, as continental Europe, War and Peace–era Russia and Paris, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and New York City. The author deftly weaves the arc of the mirror’s fantastic journey into each girl’s journey of self-discovery, from becoming a nation’s herbal healer to an anti-gentrification activist. Best of all, though the mirror is a device, it is not a gimmick thanks to the author’s engaging plot and the illustrator’s evocatively playful, full-colored drawings that border each story.
These tales are enchanting in both their realness and their whimsy (. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: May 5, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-324-01556-7
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Norton Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship.
A young tennis champion becomes the target of revenge.
In this sequel to Legacy and the Queen (2019), Legacy Petrin and her friends Javi and Pippa have returned to Legacy’s home province and the orphanage run by her father. With her friends’ help, she is in training to defend her championship when they discover that another player, operating under the protection of High Consul Silla, is presenting herself as Legacy. She is so convincing that the real Legacy is accused of being an imitation. False Legacy has become a hero to the masses, further strengthening Silla’s hold, and it becomes imperative to uncover and defeat her. If Legacy is to win again, she must play her imposter while disguised as someone else. Winning at tennis is not just about money and fame, but resisting Silla’s plans to send more young people into brutal mines with little hope of better lives. Legacy will have to overcome her fears and find the magic that allowed her to claim victory in the past. This story, with its elements of sports, fantasy, and social consciousness that highlight tensions between the powerful and those they prey upon, successfully continues the series conceived by late basketball superstar Bryant. As before, the tennis matches are depicted with pace and spirit. Legacy and Javi have brown skin; most other characters default to White.
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-949520-19-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Granity Studios
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
A pleasing premise for book lovers.
A fantasy-loving bookworm makes a wonderful, terrible bargain.
When sixth grader Poppy Woodlock’s historic preservationist parents move the family to the Oregon coast to work on the titular stately home, Poppy’s sure she’ll find magic. Indeed, the exiled water nymph in the manor’s ruined swimming pool grants a wish, but: “Magic isn’t free. It cosssts.” The price? Poppy’s favorite book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In return she receives Sampson, a winged lion cub who is everything Poppy could have hoped for. But she soon learns that the nymph didn’t take just her own physical book—she erased Narnia from Poppy’s world. And it’s just the first loss: Soon, Poppy’s grandmother’s journal’s gone, then The Odyssey, and more. The loss is heartbreaking, but Sampson’s a wonderful companion, particularly as Poppy’s finding middle school a tough adjustment. Hartman’s premise is beguiling—plenty of readers will identify with Poppy, both as a fellow bibliophile and as a kid struggling to adapt. Poppy’s repeatedly expressed faith that unveiling Sampson will bring some sort of vindication wears thin, but that does not detract from the central drama. It’s a pity that the named real-world books Poppy reads are notably lacking in diversity; a story about the power of literature so limited in imagination lets both itself and readers down. Main characters are cued White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast. Chapters open with atmospheric spot art. (This review has been updated to reflect the final illustrations.)
A pleasing premise for book lovers. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780316448222
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
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