An earnest, if sometimes heavy-handed, Christian allegory about faith and the modern world.
Two teens make their way through a post-apocalyptic future world in Seitz’s YA series starter.
In this first installment in the House of Heaventree saga, 15-year-old Flare Flanagan and her 14-year-old brother, Cornelius, are misfits in a hypertechnological future world in which Great Storms once disrupted all satellite and electronic technology for over a year. Since then, society has been almost entirely subsumed by a gigantic company called the Global Operational Datalink, which has taken over most of the world through its communication monopoly: “It was a satellite that controlled all communications—wePhones, wePads, computers, internet, gaming,” explains the omniscient narrator. “It was supposed to be free, but nothing comes without a price.” Everybody now has an electronic chip implanted in their foreheads for instantaneous connection with the Datalink, governed by the “Herod clause,” which grants the Global Union ownership of all users’ firstborn children. Cornelius and Flare’s parents refuse to do this, thus making their children immediately identifiable outcasts, although they try to wear their hair over their foreheads to disguise their status. The pair also attend the House of Heaventree, a Christian preparatory school that aims to make its charges “physically fit, mentally fit, and most importantly, spiritually fit to handle any test of faith.” Seitz handles the work’s straightforward Christian allegory with enough skill and energy to head off any predictability. The interplay between the Flanagan children and their schoolmates at Heaventree is well rendered, and although the benefits of Cornelius’ encyclopedic recall of the Bible results in some rather on-the-nose quotations, Seitz manages to create a good balance between the Christian subtext and the bleak future setting. Religious readers are likely to find this work congenial and faith-affirming.
An earnest, if sometimes heavy-handed, Christian allegory about faith and the modern world.Pub Date: Nov. 9, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-578-32072-4
Page Count: 162
Publisher: Water Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Though bold and atmospheric, this high-concept story never achieves liftoff.
A girl enters into a marriage contract with a god to save her family.
Eighteen-year-old Lacrimosa “Lark” Arriscane expects to graduate from school and step into a curator position at the gallery housing the works of her favorite painter. She never imagines that instead she’ll be expelled from Marchmain Academy, sent away from the city and back to her seaside hometown of Verse, where her brothers run a salt mine. But her family’s troubles have only just begun; the mine is failing, and Lark’s brothers owe a steep debt to the neighboring Felimath family. When Lark learns she can save the mine and her brothers by agreeing to marry Therion, the chthonic god her family worships, she barely hesitates. But the betrothal goes horribly wrong, and Lark must form a fragile alliance with the Felimath siblings, Alistair and Camille, childhood friends with whom her relationship has soured. As the three delve into myths and mysteries, Lark’s romantic connections with both siblings begin to bloom. Clipstone’s dreamily romantic writing can be gorgeous, and this moody folktale is well imagined. There’s a lot of missed potential, however: Some underdeveloped plotlines slow the narrative, and vague characterization prevents the emotional beats from landing. Still, the unique premise and skillful prose may keep readers engaged. Lark and her brothers have olive skin and “hair and eyes the color of honey”; the Felimath siblings are cued white.
Though bold and atmospheric, this high-concept story never achieves liftoff. (Fantasy romance. 14-18)Pub Date: July 1, 2025
ISBN: 9781250348906
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2025
An action-packed tale for those thirsty for more superhero stories.
Grammy Award–winning artist Keys co-authors a YA superhero graphic novel bearing the title of her hit song.
Smart, quiet 14-year-old Loretta “Lolo” Wright struggles to stand up for herself until, on what should be a routine trip to a convenience store, her 16-year-old brother, James, is mistakenly accused of stealing by the police. When the officer slams her brother to the ground, Lolo’s powers manifest for the first time. Meanwhile, Michael Warner, who lives in the same Brooklyn housing projects as the Wrights, is rejected from the football team for being too small. He develops exceptional fighting abilities and shortly afterward gets involved in working for a drug dealer named Skin. When Skin sees a video of Lolo levitating the cop who assaulted James, he wants to recruit her as well, and he tries to extort protection money from Lolo’s dad, who owns a moving business. Lolo must convince Michael to choose a different path; it’s only by working together that they can defeat Skin. Featuring dizzying shifts among multiple perspectives, this full-color graphic novel presents vibrant, expressive characters set against mostly simple, bright backgrounds, with extreme violence depicted in gory detail. The narrative briefly explores class issues and racial stereotypes, but while the setup is intriguing, the momentum fizzles and the pieces never quite come together. Most main characters are Black; Skin reads as White, and secondary characters appear racially diverse.
An action-packed tale for those thirsty for more superhero stories. (Graphic fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: March 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-302956-9
Page Count: 256
Publisher: HarperAlley
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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