While not without faults, a tale of survival and rebuilding.
Sixteen-year-old Sasha’s world is upended when her single mother is killed in an earthquake.
After surviving a 6.0 San Bernardino earthquake, Sasha must go live with her maternal grandparents in Orange County, California. She hibernates for three months before emerging to begin 11th grade. Severely bullied in middle school, her coping strategy thus far has been to hide behind her camera as a yearbook photographer. Unfortunately, Sasha’s ambitious and controlling grandmother refuses to let her join the yearbook team or art club at her new school and instead insists she participate in mock trial, which she loathes. Wanting to please her grandparents, Sasha caves. She makes some new and cool popular friends via her grandparents’ country club, but events at a party soon clarify their untrustworthiness. The interesting twist to the perennial teen themes of fitting in, self-discovery, and truth-telling is that Sasha is bisexual. Her love interest is art club president Lily, despite her grandparents’ desire that she date golden boy Cole. The traumas of grief and earthquake survival take a backseat to the more pedestrian anxieties of what club to join and which friends and romantic interests to claim. The first-person narrative is plodding; Sasha agonizes for many chapters about the same issues. For teen readers who are slowly uncovering their own truths, the pace might feel appropriate. Most main characters are white; Lily is Chinese American.
While not without faults, a tale of survival and rebuilding. (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-256811-3
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
Disappointingly familiar despite the creative magic and shocking hook at the end.
On opposite sides of a long war, two teens find hope together in this duology opener.
Seventeen-year-old Darling Seabreak was orphaned by the House Wars instigated by House Dragon, which destroyed her family. Surviving life in dark sewers as a child, she becomes a deadly Barb for her adopted House Kraken as they struggle against the imperialistic Dragons. Eighteen-year-old Talon Goldhoard fights for his older brother, Caspian, the Chaos-touched High Prince Regent of House Dragon and ruler of all Pyrlanum, a deadly War Prince whose entire life has been battle. The focus on family bonds and support adds realism, while the inclusion of prophetic dreams and visions creates intrigue: When Darling’s adoptive father is kidnapped by Dragons, she is drawn into a political struggle between Caspian’s erratic plans, her loyalty to House Kraken, and her growing attraction to Talon. Their romance, while beginning with immediate attraction, progresses at a slow burn and relies on trust rather than instalove. Despite familiar worldbuilding delivered mostly through telling rather than showing, the boon magic system is intriguing, and the inclusion of Chaos in the mythology adds a twist. While the plot is predictable—until a surprising ending that seems to come out of nowhere—alternating narrators allow for differing views and opinions on events. Caspian is an especially interesting character, and readers will wish for more time with him. Darling has brown skin; Talon and Caspian are light-skinned.
Disappointingly familiar despite the creative magic and shocking hook at the end. (Fantasy. 13-18)Pub Date: March 28, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-35332-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Sparkling and lush; a gem.
A witch and two princes are brought together in an adventure to save 8th-century Wales.
When Ffion, a hedgewitch estranged from her powerful magical family, members of the Foxhall coven, suffers a terrible loss, she finds herself in the position to team up on a quest with Taliesin, the “bastard prince” of her kingdom of Powys. Ffion sets out to walk the length of Offa’s Dyke, determined to use her own magic to destroy it in order to return the disappearing magic to Wales. Meanwhile, Tal and his brother, Dafydd, have been pitted against one another in a challenge from their father, King Cadell, to destroy the dyke: Whoever succeeds will inherit the throne. While clever, opportunistic Tal hates magic, he’s desperate to become king. Dafydd would rather spend his days working at his forge as a blacksmith, but he’s coerced by Cadell into competing. Throughout the journey to destroy the dyke and thwart their enemies, the brothers are thrown together with Ffion in ways they couldn’t have predicted. This comforting and cozy fantastical romance bursting with Welsh mythology is told from Ffion’s, Tal’s, and Dafydd’s compelling points of view. It’s an atmospheric jewel box with sympathetic characters readers will root for from the first page; they’ll only be disappointed to learn it’s a stand-alone novel and not a series opener. Ffion in particular shines as a thoughtful, brave hero with a compelling backstory.
Sparkling and lush; a gem. (pronunciation guide, author’s note) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: March 12, 2024
ISBN: 9780063083578
Page Count: 400
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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