Does humanity’s future hang in the balance, or is maintaining the balance a prison?
Nineteen-year-old Piri’s regimented civilization is perched atop a 40,000-foot column above what he believes to be the lifeless surface of the planet. When a transport-tube accident lands him on the surface, Piri finds the Children, who worship the Fathers who dwell atop the column. The Children hope to be Chosen each week to go live with the Fathers, but Piri has never seen people like the Children. While waiting to be chosen, the Children send crops up the column and enjoy a hard but happy life, except for the Scavs. The Children try to get word about Piri to the Fathers, but soon he settles in, gives the Children technological advice and falls in love with Niko. Captured by Scavs at his moment of greatest happiness, Piri is sent back to the city, where he learns the abhorrent balance on which humanity’s existence depends. He becomes determined to return to the Children to free them. Wooten’s debut is a derivative science-fantasy that uses its futuristic setting to turn a critical eye on theocracies while promoting the normalcy of same-sex unions. Logistical impossibilities and dim-when-the-plot-needs-it characters (including smart narrator Piri) hobble this tale with good intentions.
Sci-fi savvy teens and those glutted on dystopian futures can easily find more engaging reads. (Dystopian romance. 14-17)Pub Date: April 15, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-62639-055-3
Page Count: 264
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 26, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2014
Categories: TEEN FICTION | TEEN SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY
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An emotionally engaging closer that fumbles in its final moments.
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Lara Jean prepares for college and a wedding.
Korean-American Lara Jean is finally settled into a nice, complication-free relationship with her white boyfriend, Peter. But things don’t stay simple for long. When college acceptance letters roll in, Peter and Lara Jean discover they’re heading in different directions. As the two discuss the long-distance thing, Lara Jean’s widower father is making a major commitment: marrying the neighbor lady he’s been dating. The whirlwind of a wedding, college visits, prom, and the last few months of senior year provides an excellent backdrop for this final book about Lara Jean. The characters ping from event to event with emotions always at the forefront. Han further develops her cast, pushing them to new maturity and leaving few stones unturned. There’s only one problem here, and it’s what’s always held this series back from true greatness: Peter. Despite Han’s best efforts to flesh out Peter with abandonment issues and a crummy dad, he remains little more than a handsome jock. Frankly, Lara Jean and Peter may have cute teen chemistry, but Han's nuanced characterizations have often helped to subvert typical teen love-story tropes. This knowing subversion is frustratingly absent from the novel's denouement.
An emotionally engaging closer that fumbles in its final moments. (Romance. 14-17)Pub Date: May 2, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-3048-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
Categories: TEEN FICTION | TEEN ROMANCE | TEEN SOCIAL THEMES
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A rebel queen fans the sparks of revolution.
Picking up immediately after the events of Ash Princess (2018), Sebastian’s expansive sequel finds young Queen Theodosia—her title newly reclaimed—fleeing her country and throne. With her people still enslaved, Theo will need allies and an army to free them, and her aunt, the fierce and manipulative pirate Dragonsbane, insists that the only way to acquire either is if Theo marries—something no queen has ever done in Astrea’s history. Wracked by nightmares, guilt, and fear that she is losing herself (and more), Theo balks but, with few options open to her, grudgingly agrees to meet with suitors at a grand invitational hosted by the king of the opulent Sta’Crivero. Readers looking for further immersion and expansion of Theo’s world will not be disappointed here. The narrative suffers marginally from lengthy details picked up and soon put back down with no real service to plot or character development, but Theo’s first-person narration remains enthralling with emotional immediacy as she learns more and more about her world and the people (and cruelty) within it. Vengeance, political corruption, and mystery are the main drivers, and questions of trauma, empathy, and sacrifice hold the reigns as Theo grapples with emergent magic, inconvenient romances, and the crushing weight of her choices as a leader.
Packed to the brim with intrigue and the promise of a third installment. (maps) (Fantasy. 14-17)Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5247-6710-5
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Dec. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019
Categories: TEEN SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | TEEN FICTION | TEEN ROMANCE
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