An easy, entertaining read.
After spending her entire life without magick, a teenage girl in Oregon suddenly develops moon powers.
Wren Nightingale has known about magick her whole life. Her deceased parents were Moonstruck, and so are both of her best friends, Lee Young and Samantha Hopp. But Wren, who’s white, wasn’t born under a full moon, and she’s lived her first 17 years as a Mundane. On the night of her 18th birthday, however, she’s hit by “a spear of moonlight, silver and impossibly bright,” and everything changes. Lee, who’s Black, was on his way to Moon Isle to spend the summer studying his powers when he stopped off to give Wren her birthday present. After their night of minor shenanigans ends with Wren being Moonstruck, instead of just one night together, they’ll have the entire summer. But it’s a time of trials, both in their personal lives and in their magickal abilities, because something isn’t right on Moon Isle, and Wren might be in the middle of it. The story is told in Wren’s and Lee’s alternating viewpoints as they navigate the political world of magick, fall in love, and learn that not everything is as it seems. This series opener unfolds at a mostly steady pace, although the drama and action are punctuated by slower sections of exposition and worldbuilding, preparing readers for a much larger story to come.
An easy, entertaining read. (Fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781250865168
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and...
A deliciously creepy page-turning gem from first-time writer and illustrator Brosgol finds brooding teenager Anya trying to escape the past—both her own and the ghost haunting her.
Anya feels out of place at her preppy private school; embarrassed by her Russian heritage, she has worked hard to lose her accent and to look more like everyone else. After a particularly frustrating morning at the bus stop, Anya storms off, only to accidentally fall down a well. Down in the dark hole, she meets Emily, a ghost who claims to be a murder victim trapped down in the dank abyss for 90 years. With Emily’s help, Anya manages to escape, though once free, she learns that Emily has traveled out with her. At first, Emily seems like the perfect friend; however, once her motives become clear, Anya learns that “perfect” may only be an illusion. A moodily atmospheric spectrum of grays washes over the clean, tidy panels, setting a distinct stage before the first words appear. Brosgol’s tight storytelling invokes the chilling feeling of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (2002), though for a decidedly older set.
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and outward appearance. (Graphic supernatural fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: June 7, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59643-552-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations.
Magic, mystery, and love intertwine and invite in this newest take on the “enchanted circus” trope.
Sisters raised by their abusive father, a governor of a colonial backwater in a world vaguely reminiscent of the late 18th century, Scarlett and Donatella each long for something more. Scarlett, olive-skinned, dark of hair and attitude, longs for Caraval, the fabled, magical circus helmed by the possibly evil Master Legend Santos, while blonde, sunny Tella finds comfort in drink and the embraces of various men. A slightly awkward start, with inconsistencies of attitude and setting, rapidly smooths out when they, along with handsome “golden-brown” sailor Julian, flee to Caraval on the eve of Scarlett’s arranged marriage. Tella disappears, and Scarlett must navigate a nighttime world of magic to find her. Caraval delights the senses: beautiful and scary, described in luscious prose, this is a show readers will wish they could enter. Dresses can be purchased for secrets or days of life; clocks can become doors; bridges move: this is an inventive and original circus, laced with an edge of horror. A double love story, one sensual romance and the other sisterly loyalty, anchors the plot, but the real star here is Caraval and its secrets.
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-09525-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
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