A young wanderer enters the Wyrmeweald—a mountainous land of sudden death, untold riches, and dragons, dragons, dragons—in this grim trilogy opener.
Having encountered three corpses on the trail and receiving a near-fatal wound himself, Micah falls in with Eli, a gruff mountaineer who fills him in on the increasingly vicious struggle between outside exploiters, or “wyrmekith,” and the “wyrmekin” who have learned to live closely with the indigenous dragons. Joined by Thrace, a lovely if feral dragon-rider, the protagonists pursue a gang of murderous egg thieves, tangle bloodily with a community of “gutsmen” and encounter a cannibal wyrmekin. The authors give all of the kith cast members Old Testament names and use ornate language (“Already, sharp-eyed, keen-nosed carrionwyrmes with cropscythe claws and teeth like hackdaggers were circling overhead”), presumably for atmosphere. They also positively festoon their setting and tale with dragons of many sorts and sizes: lakewyrmes, fire-breathing whitewyrmes, mistwyrmes, fisherwyrmes, tatterwyrmes, stormwyrmes, lanternwyrmes, squabwyrmes and more. A few rate full-page portraits at the end; narrow strip illustrations at the chapter heads offer smaller, partial views of figures, creatures and landscapes.
Red meat for rabid dragon lovers, but younger fans of the authors’ Edge Chronicles may be discomfited by the gruesome bits and steamy clinches. (Fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4804-1610-9
Page Count: 372
Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
Review Posted Online: April 10, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2013
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A gripping thriller in dystopic future Los Angeles.
Fifteen-year-olds June and Day live completely different lives in the glorious Republic. June is rich and brilliant, the only candidate ever to get a perfect score in the Trials, and is destined for a glowing career in the military. She looks forward to the day when she can join up and fight the Republic’s treacherous enemies east of the Dakotas. Day, on the other hand, is an anonymous street rat, a slum child who failed his own Trial. He's also the Republic's most wanted criminal, prone to stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. When tragedies strike both their families, the two brilliant teens are thrown into direct opposition. In alternating first-person narratives, Day and June experience coming-of-age adventures in the midst of spying, theft and daredevil combat. Their voices are distinct and richly drawn, from Day’s self-deprecating affection for others to June's Holmesian attention to detail. All the flavor of a post-apocalyptic setting—plagues, class warfare, maniacal soldiers—escalates to greater complexity while leaving space for further worldbuilding in the sequel.
This is no didactic near-future warning of present evils, but a cinematic adventure featuring endearing, compelling heroes . (Science fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25675-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: April 8, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
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A DNA test reveals that Abby has a sister she never knew about—and they head off to summer camp together to uncover family secrets.
When 16-year-old Abby’s best friend and secret crush, Leo, asks her to do a mail-in DNA test with him, Abby mostly agrees to give him a little push, as he clearly wants to find out more about his birth family. While the results don’t help Leo, they bring a shocking result for Abby: She has a full-blooded sister, 18-year-old Instagram wellness star Savvy, who lives in another Seattle suburb. After meeting and realizing their respective parents used to be friends, the two girls decide to meet again at summer camp. Unfortunately, camp gets off to a rough start; Savvy is a stickler for rules, Abby didn’t read the rules in the first place, and Leo is a camp chef, which only intensifies Abby’s feelings for him. With a summer full of new friends, hijinks, delicious food, and digging up secrets, Abby has to learn to lean in and own up to the complicated parts of life. This is a heartwarming novel of friendship and family, with a little romance. The story and characters have depth and emotion, touching on topics of broken friendships, losing a loved one, deception, social media, and pursuing what you love. Abby, Savvy, and Leo’s adoptive parents are White; Leo is Filipino.
A cute, feel-good coming-of-age story. (Fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-23730-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 22, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
Categories: TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FAMILY | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION
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