Difficult, provocative, and unforgettable—the most dangerous kind of fiction.
A ravishing, profane, and bittersweet post-apocalyptic bildungsroman transcends genre into myth.
In a desolate future, young girls marked by the goddess Catchkeep fight to the death to become Archivist, needed but feared and shunned for her sacred duty to trap, interrogate, and dispatch ghosts. After three years as Archivist, Wasp is weary of killing, of loneliness, of hunger, of cruelty, of despair, so she barters with a supersoldier’s ghost to find his long-dead partner in exchange for a chance at escape. But looking for answers in the land of the dead only reveals that everything Wasp knew was a lie. Equal parts dark fantasy, science fiction, and fable, Wasp’s story is structured as a classic hero’s journey. Her bleak and brutal world, limned with the sparest of detail, forges her character: stoic, cynical, with burning compassion at the core; in contrast, the rich and mosaic (if capricious and violent) underworld overflows with symbol and metaphor that tease at deeper meanings never made fully explicit. Meanwhile, the nameless ghost’s history, told through disconnected snatches of memory, encompasses heroism, abuse, friendship, and betrayal in a tragedy only redeemed by the heart-rending convergence of their separate narratives. Names (and their absence) form a constant leitmotif, as identity is transformed by the act of claiming it.
Difficult, provocative, and unforgettable—the most dangerous kind of fiction. (Science fiction/fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: May 12, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-61873-097-8
Page Count: 250
Publisher: Big Mouth House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A delicious winter romance that shimmers with classic fairy-tale magic.
An 18-year-old’s encounter with the pale, mysterious, golden-eyed Starmaker transforms her from hamlet girl to magical apprentice.
Aurora Finch discovers she possesses the rare ability to channel sunlight—magic essential to the survival of snow-covered Reverie, her mountain village, “with peaks so high the Sun [cannot] rise above them.” Now she faces a harsh choice: Leave everything behind to train at the Starmaker’s enchanted castle or die as the untapped magic destroys her from within. Griffin excels at worldbuilding; the story is filled with elements and characters that feel both whimsical and real, from Tilly, a living snow angel who’s searching for herself, to Constance, an immortal rabbit. As the antagonism between Aurora and the cold, centuries-old Starmaker melts, their love story, which forms the heart of this tale, crackles with tension. Aurora emerges as a compelling hero—stubborn and brave—who refuses to be diminished by the overwhelming responsibilities thrust upon her. The romantic storyline proves both strong and emotionally involving as the author brings fresh twists to familiar elements, exploring the power of stories and how they shape our understanding of the world. White-presenting Aurora faces a devastating truth that creates urgency and heightens the emotional stakes that drive the story to its conclusion. This satisfying, sparkling fantasy will capture hearts with its well-developed setting and captivating love story.
A delicious winter romance that shimmers with classic fairy-tale magic. (author’s note) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 17, 2026
ISBN: 9781728256184
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
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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