A subtly magical and romantic story of personal growth.
“The most beautiful things are wild.”
For Tana, magic comes as naturally as breathing. It soothes her mind and heart as only the sea surrounding the island of the Witchery can. The weights of destiny and duty sit heavily on her: She is to be engaged to Landon, the mainland governor’s son who is “decent and kind,” to secure legitimacy and protection for her coven. When Tana meets Wolfe, a mysterious boy who turns everything she thought she knew about her world and her magic upside down, she finds herself torn for the first time between what is expected of her and what she truly wants. Griffin crafts a richly detailed world that leaves vivid sensory impressions. Tana is an honest, open narrator who easily draws readers in to empathize with her struggles with her world and herself. Supporting characters, by contrast, feel almost nebulous at times—more representatives of ideas or ideals than fully realized individuals, though they intrigue nonetheless. The love triangle refreshingly feels almost ancillary to the protagonist’s journey of self-discovery and empowerment. Although genre-savvy readers might find the plot predictable at times, it never loses momentum and will keep pages turning right to the end. Blue-eyed, chestnut-haired Tana reads White; there is diversity in skin tone in the supporting cast.
A subtly magical and romantic story of personal growth. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2023
ISBN: 9781728256153
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Somberly beautiful.
A girl goes in search of her missing sister and discovers a strange hidden world of dreams.
Corin, who’s 18 and dark-skinned, strives to protect her 12-year-old sister, Elly. But life as a thief is full of struggle, poverty, and loss, even without Corin’s avoidance of other relationships. Elly clings to the promise of fairy tales, like the one that says a princess lies sleeping in an underground castle after pricking her finger on a spindle. After the sisters fight and Elly runs off, Corin searches for her in Gyldan’s old network of tunnels—and finds the tale is true: Cursed Princess Amelia, golden-haired, with eyes like “sea glass” and porcelain skin, lies asleep, surrounded by flowers. Corin enters the princess’ dreamworld—the place “where your subconscious desires come to life.” She meets Briar Rose, Amelia’s alter ego, who experienced her share of sadness and wanted to fall asleep. Also in the dreamworld is green-skinned Malicine, the nonbinary demon who, despite having placed the curse of eternal slumber on Amelia, is mostly friendly. All three are running from things they can’t face, though the dreamworld may not give them a choice. Pham’s debut, a Sapphic reimagining of “Sleeping Beauty,” explores mental health and asks a lot of readers as it seesaws between emotional confrontations, time jumps, and scenes where one character inhabits the memories of another, all of which demand intense engagement. Still, the ending is earned as well as positive.
Somberly beautiful. (content note) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2026
ISBN: 9798217113026
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Kokila
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
SEEN & HEARD
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
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