A not-quite-hard sci-fi thrill for Avatar: The Last Airbender fans.
Two 18-year-olds discover the elemental power that links them in this latest from the mother-daughter Cast duo (Lost, 2018, etc.).
When an aberrant tornado kills Foster’s adoptive mother, Cora, and Tate’s parents, their worlds violently collide. Before she dies, Cora reveals to Foster how close she is to danger—the tornado, it turns out, was no act of nature, and at the center of it all is Foster’s connection to Tate and their emergent power to control the element of air. In ruthless pursuit of the terrified teens are the Core Four, powerful adults who each control one of the elements and who in turn are controlled by Foster’s supposedly dead foster father. As Foster and Tate hide in the safe house that Cora left them, they begin to unravel the mystery of their abilities and those of the other six teens—a pair for each element—they must work to save. Genetic manipulation, schemes for power and domination, and the ever familiar struggle of self-discovery and connection come together in a maelstrom of a plot that moves between the bewildered teens and the dangerously desperate quartet that hunts their kind. Several characters of color feature here, but all noticeably orbit around the white protagonists as either helpers or threats. As the narrative is poised to deepen in a clearly planned sequel, hopefully so too is the representation.
A not-quite-hard sci-fi thrill for Avatar: The Last Airbender fans. (Science fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-14104-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 6, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
Enticing and original.
Abandoned by her sisters, Io Ora must trust Bianca—former mob queen, now dying wraith—to help her find the hidden gods and end them forever in this duology closer that follows Threads That Bind (2023).
Io and Bianca cross mudflats that harbor deadly chimerini and dodge the violent, unpredictable tides that flood the Wastelands, where humans have struggled to survive ever since the Collapse shattered the moon into three pieces. The youngest of the Moirae-born (sisters with Fates-like powers), Io is able to see the threads governing every human fate in the Quilt. She can end a life simply by cutting another’s life-thread, but the cost is high: Each time, she must sever one of her own 35 threads. As Bianca traverses anarchic wastes and dangerous urban slums ruled by powerful gangs on the way to their destination, the teeming city-nation of Nanzy, she weakens but pushes on. Despite setbacks and betrayals, the two discover unexpected allies willing to risk their lives to confront the gods. Io’s personal evolution, like the Moirae’s silver threads, is woven seamlessly into the complicated plot. While her romance with Edei is satisfying, the story’s emotional driver is the sisters’ difficult history of loss, longing, pain, and betrayal; each bears scars from their old, set-in-stone rivalries. Io’s world has an epic thematic scope and an intricately imagined setting. The characters are diverse in appearance, gender identity, and sexual orientation.
Enticing and original. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: June 18, 2024
ISBN: 9780593528747
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A refreshing fantasy for readers looking for more friendship and adventure, less romance.
From orphan to assassin-in-training to...savior of the kingdom?
Sirscha is focused on becoming the next queen’s Shadow. Training for the past four years, she has endured grueling trials and humiliations to prove herself among the elite. Less than a month from graduation, however, she intercepts a message that sets off a chain of events that derails her plans. Set on an unexpected path, Sirscha discovers new abilities and finds kinship with the persecuted shamanborn, those with elemental magic whom she once would have hunted down. If she can maintain some control, her powers may be able to help heal the rot in the kingdom, but Sirscha will ultimately question her loyalty to her queen and country. While the story skirts the “orphans of mysterious origins” trope, Sirscha’s path to discovery and acceptance is thoughtful and heartfelt. It is also refreshing to see a character too busy kicking butt to stop for romance. This is not an Asian fantasy per se but a fantastical adventure with some Asian touches, indicated through descriptions of landscape and food. Characters are described with a range of skin tones from deep bronze to gray. Also, it is implied that same-sex marriage is accepted as a given.
A refreshing fantasy for readers looking for more friendship and adventure, less romance. (glossary) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: June 23, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-62414-9245
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Page Street
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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