Readers will eagerly barrel over the edge of this cliffhanger.
Picking up directly after the events in A Conspiracy of Stars (2018), this volume follows Octavia in her search for answers and her discovery of yet more questions.
After losing her mother and uncovering the sinister plans of N’Terra’s most influential and extremist leader, Octavia flees her home, enduring another shock when she encounters her supposedly dead grandparents. Safe in the bewildering and amazing Faloii city of Mbekenkanush, Octavia discovers over 100 humans—Acclimates who left N’Terra to learn from the Faloii. Their peace is shattered, however, when one of Dr. Albatur’s weaponized experiments attacks and the Faloii become aware of N’Terra’s violations of Faloiv’s delicate natural order—crimes that risk open war not just with the Faloii, but with the planet itself. Octavia is frantic to stem the tide of conflict, but every move she makes only seems to unearth more treacherous secrets and deeper connections between the N’Terrans and the Faloii stretching back long before the humans ever crashed onto the planet. As with the first book, readers who hunger for immersive worldbuilding and for the moral ambiguity that is native to sci-fi as a genre will be well-sated here. Plot development that initially teeters toward a colonizer-savior narrative (much like Avatar) frenetically swings into greater, if still anthropocentric, complexity toward its conclusion. Octavia and several other characters are black; ethnicity is unclear for other humans.
Readers will eagerly barrel over the edge of this cliffhanger. (Science fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: April 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-264424-4
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A fantasy with complex characterization that will build anticipation for the next entry.
Three young people find their places in a world of vengeance and destiny in National Book Award winner Tahir’s duology opener set in the multicultural world of her An Ember in the Ashes series.
Aiz, from the impoverished nation of Kegar, seeks revenge against Tiral bet-Hiwa, an air squadron commander who, as a child, murdered Aiz’s fellow orphans. Guided by a voice claiming to be Mother Div, Kegar’s first queen, Aiz escapes imprisonment after her failed assassination attempt on Tiral and embarks on a journey to free Mother Div’s trapped spirit. In the Martial Empire, Sirsha, a skilled tracker with magical abilities who’s been banished from her homeland, is saved by a stranger who hires her to hunt an unnatural killer. Quil, the crown prince of the Martial Empire, faces an invasion by the Kegari and the lingering threat of a mysterious force responsible for recent murders, including those of two of his loved ones. As the storylines converge, Sirsha and Quil cross paths, leading to revelations about the insidious force. The story explores the blurred line between good and evil and the lengths one will go to for a better life. Tahir’s deep and intricate worldbuilding requires time for readers to fully grasp. Following a slow start, the plot engages as pieces fall into place, leading up to an unexpected ending. The beautiful writing compensates for the romantic relationships, which develop quickly and somewhat inorganically.
A fantasy with complex characterization that will build anticipation for the next entry. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9780593616949
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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