A lukewarm historical fairy-tale fantasy.
Hilde may look like a human girl, but she’s not one—though sometimes, she is a swan.
Set in our human past as well as the mystical world of spirits and gods, Hilde’s story takes her from her magical and secluded woodland home into late-1800s Bavaria. Hilde and her five sisters are the daughters of the god Odin, the All-Father. Each of the young women has been endowed with a special gift as well as the ability to turn dreams into reality. Hilde’s desire to distance herself from her particularly macabre skill—“The gift / of greeting / death”—sparks her desire to flee with her new friend, the human boy Baron Maximilian von Richter, leaving behind her duties in favor of human girlhood. When Richter takes Hilde to the great and bustling city of Munich and the court of melancholy King Ludwig II, she meets Franz Mendelsohn, a nonbinary Jewish teen artist. As Hilde and Franz grow close, they strive to create a successful balance between magic and reality, encountering surprising kindness and deep betrayal along the way. Written in sparse free verse, this character-driven queer narrative is an original yet slow-moving story of an otherworldly being trying to find her place in the universe. Though lyrical, the simple poetry and unembellished plot make this milquetoast historical fantasy ultimately fall flat. Main human characters are presumed White; Hilde is darker skinned and has red hair.
A lukewarm historical fairy-tale fantasy. (Verse fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: July 11, 2023
ISBN: 9781682634837
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Peachtree Teen
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
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
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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