Well-developed characters enliven an absorbing novel that promises a bewitching saga to come.
A teenager must confront an evil that has ties to 17th-century witch hunts in Goodwin’s YA fantasy novel, the first of a prospective series.
After losing their father, 14-year-old Nate Watson and his 12-year-old brother, Marc, go to live with their paternal aunt, whom they didn’t know existed. They move from New York City and settle into Aunt Celia’s Windsor, Connecticut, home and community for the better part of a year. But a locked room—the only place in Celia’s home that’s off-limits—is impossible for them to ignore, especially after Nate overhears his aunt having a conversation with someone there that indicates that she’s keeping secrets from the boys. When the brothers later peek inside, they find books about demonology and witches, as well as a small, metal representation of a snake that wraps itself around Nate’s wrist. They also inadvertently unleash an imprisoned menace named Malleus Hodge, who threatens Nate’s friends and family in a bid to get the bracelet. Nate learns that he’s up against dark “magick” and evil creatures, connected to the Watson family and centuries-old New England witch trials. Fortunately, he, Marc, and Celia have allies to help combat their sinister, daunting foe. Goodwin ably weaves real-life history into this swiftly paced narrative; intermittent chapters set in the mid-1600s reference the first-known person executed for witchcraft in the American colonies. This plotline intertwines with those of Nate’s family and the villain they’re determined to stop, and the periodically tightening bracelet serves as a constant reminder that time is short. A host of appealing characters make up the cast; at one point, for example, Nate and his pal Jenn Quigley appealingly challenge a hulking school bully, and Marc is amusingly curious throughout. For a series opener, the author supplies a wealth of details, including backstories and insight into various types of magick. The final act offers some closure while also revealing a few surprises that could kickstart a sequel.
Well-developed characters enliven an absorbing novel that promises a bewitching saga to come.Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2023
ISBN: 9798886450903
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 1, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.
Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868138
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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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