An exciting fantasy tale with entertaining reinventions of classic characters.
Three supernatural women come together to fight evil and save their land in Wright’s fairy-tale-inspired horror-fantasy YA novel.
Seventeen-year-old Snow White has pale skin, dark hair, rose-red lips, and a thirst for blood. The vampire princess has lived with her need to feast on others since birth, but unlike other vampires, she has a soul and can freely walk in sunlight. Her mother died long ago, and after marrying her evil stepmother, her father lost his life as well. Now, her stepmother is holding the throne until Snow White comes of age; the older woman plots against the younger, spreading vicious rumors about her. She also has her groundskeeper take Snow White into the Forbidden Forest, where, after telling her the truth about her stepmother, he dies while saving her from bandits. Snow White soon finds she’s not completely alone, however, when she meets teenage vegan werewolf Red Riding Hood. The two aren’t safe for long, as they must fight a group of vampires and then escape from Red Riding Hood’s angry werewolf pack, including her furious grandmother. They first make their way to a cabin on a mountain where seven brothers offer them safety and shelter for a time. If the young women can escape their enemies’ clutches, they’ll have to go to the Charming Kingdom to meet up with teenage Cinderella, a good witch in training. Wright has created a fantastical setting with intriguing reinventions of classic tales, transforming their characters into modern, spunky heroes. Each shows brand-new complexity; for example, Snow White’s heart of gold is juxtaposed with her vampiric needs. The story is full of memorable side players as well, including the Grim, a talking cat who helps Snow White on her journey. The work is further aided by Wright’s excellent use of humor, as well as action scenes that pack a punch: “The huge gamekeeper swung his axe once again, catching another bandit across the body. The man let out a bloodcurdling scream as another bandit rushed up behind Garth and sunk his rusty sword into the gamekeeper’s back.”
An exciting fantasy tale with entertaining reinventions of classic characters.Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2023
ISBN: 979-8988995739
Page Count: 309
Publisher: Witch Way Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 23, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
A dark and gripping feminist tale.
A young woman faces her past to discover the truth about one of her nation’s heroes.
When Effy Sayre, the only female architecture student at her university in Llyr, wins the competition to design Hiraeth Manor for the estate of the late Emrys Myrddin, national literary figure and her favorite author, it is the perfect opportunity to leave behind a recent trauma. She arrives to find the cliffside estate is literally crumbling into the ocean, and she quickly realizes things may not be as they seem. Preston, an arrogant literature student, is also working at the estate, gathering materials for the university’s archives and questioning everything Effy knows about Myrddin. When Preston offers to include her name on his thesis—which may allow her to pursue the dream of studying literature that was frustrated by the university’s refusal to admit women literature students—Effy agrees to help him. He’s on a quest for answers about the source of Myrddin’s most famous work, Angharad, a romance about a cruel Fairy King who marries a mortal woman. Meanwhile, Myrddin’s son has secrets of his own. Preston and Effy start to suspect that Myrddin’s fairy tales may hold more truth than they realize. The Welsh-inspired setting is impressively atmospheric, and while some of the mythology ends up feeling extraneous, the worldbuilding is immersive and thoughtfully addresses misogyny and its effects on how history is written. Main characters are cued white.
A dark and gripping feminist tale. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2023
ISBN: 9780063211506
Page Count: 384
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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