This compelling magical adventure rises above its many flaws. Fifteen-year-old Tommo is an escaped spellgrinder’s apprentice, and like all boys of his profession, he is dying. Ground spellstone dust has given his skin an eerie blue glow, and has afflicted him with the quivers, a degenerative illness that will soon lead to an unpleasant death. Nevertheless, he’s determined to end his days in freedom. On the run from the hangman, he falls in with Akenna, a foul-mouthed fisher girl fleeing her abusive father. All the teens want is sanctuary, but they won’t be able to find safety unless they rescue their nation from the cruel usurper of the throne. For some reason, he thinks Tommo and Akenna are a danger to him. The complexities of world-building are too extensive for this brief tale and require an excess of exposition, but are nevertheless cleverly original. Inexpert prose and a rushed conclusion detract, but overall, Tommo’s story is both intriguing and worthwhile. (Fantasy. 12-14)
Pub Date: March 1, 2007
ISBN: 1-58234-780-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2007
A sweet yet thinly developed narrative.
Sylvie Jones is on her way to the Brindille School of Culinary Arts & Magic in this YA debut by a former Top Chef contestant.
Due to her mother’s alleged cheating years ago at the famed Golden Whisk—the biggest magical cooking competition around—Sylvie has been admitted only provisionally into Brindille’s six-week preparatory program. The Council of Culinary Sages has tasked her with proving her trustworthiness and talent by finishing first in her class. If Sylvie succeeds, she’ll be officially allowed to take the enrollment test. If she fails, she’ll be banned from “cooking up magic” altogether. Right before Sylvie arrives at Brindille, a mysterious stranger informs her that she’s part of a decades-old prophecy—her name is even written upon the Apple of Discord, a carefully guarded magical treasure borne by “a secret tree that only produce[s] fruit in times of great danger.” Now Sylvie is even more determined to succeed and clear her family’s name. While the overarching plot might hold the attention of ardent fans of magic school stories, the execution falls flat. Experienced genre readers will be disappointed to find that the narrative lacks depth and relies on cliched idioms and tired wordplay, and the culinary elements of the magical world are in need of more robust worldbuilding. Sylvie is cued white, and there’s diversity among the supporting characters.
A sweet yet thinly developed narrative. (recipes) (Fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: Dec. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9798890033635
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Page Street
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2025
Sweet, if unremarkable.
A gentle “Sleeping Beauty”–inspired tale of teens training to defend a baby princess.
Fifteen-year-old Miri, beloved stepdaughter of the king, is freshly in love—with her baby sister. As the novel opens, Aurora’s christening looms, and any Disney fan will know what’s coming. However, this is Miri’s story, and pages of first-person description and exposition come before those events. Tirendell, like all kingdoms, has Light and Dark Fae. Dark Fae feed off human misery and sadness, but their desire to cause harm for self-benefit is tempered by the Rules. The Rules state that they can only act against humans under certain conditions, one being that those who have crossed them, for example, by failing to invite them to a royal christening, are fair game. Miri steps up instinctively at the moment of crisis and both deflects the curse and destroys the Dark Fae, which leads to the bulk of the novel: an extended and detailed day-to-day journey with Miri and her five largely indistinguishable new friends as they train in combat and magic to protect Aurora from future threats. With limited action and a minimal plot, this story lacks wide appeal but is notable for the portrait of deep familial love and respect, while the brief, episodic adventures (including talking animals) offer small pleasures. All characters are implied to be White.
Sweet, if unremarkable. (Fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5745-1
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
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