Intrigue, romance, and revolution, with enough unanswered questions that fans will cross fingers for a sequel.
Victorian rebellion among the Magyar and the magical creatures of Hungary and Eastern Europe: the táltos, lidérc, and rusalka.
In a 19th-century Europe where the nobility's political power is reinforced by their magic, Anna is a failure among the highborn Luminate of London: she's Barren of magic. Though her supernatural sterility leaves her unsuitable for marriage, Anna has dreams. All her hopes crumble into dust, however, when her mysterious, uncontrollable ability to shatter magic destroys her sister's debut. Packed off to stay with poor cousins in Hungary, Anna's promptly drawn into the anti-imperial, democratic fervor spreading across Europe. Against the backdrop of the real-life Hungarian rebellion to bring down the Hapsburgs, Anna comes to love Hungary, befriends passionate student rebels, and learns that her Barrenness is (of course) a unique, potentially earth-shattering power. Narrator Anna, a white British woman of rank, questions her feelings for the handsome Romani, Gábor, who helps Anna negotiate the pros and cons of saving the world: freedom for the Magyar will also free Hungary's dangerous mythological creatures. Confident of her righteousness, Anna alternately scolds her family for saying "Gypsy" instead of "Romani," feels annoyance at Gábor for accusing her of slumming it with an exotic lover, and exoticizes the Romani herself.
Intrigue, romance, and revolution, with enough unanswered questions that fans will cross fingers for a sequel. (author’s note, bibliography, character list, glossary) (Fantasy. 13-15)Pub Date: March 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-101-93599-6
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Dec. 20, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A standard post-apocalyptic dystopia with enough rich worldbuilding to appeal to most lovers of the genre. Deuce is a Huntress trainee in the tunnels beneath the long-fallen ruins of New York City. Like the rest of the Hunters, Deuce wants only to provide her city with meat and protect it from the subhuman, zombielike Freaks. So why, oh, why did they need to appoint that weirdo Fade her hunting partner? He's from outside the enclave and never learned how to fit in the way Deuce wants to. With Fade by her side, Deuce can't help seeing cracks in the elders' façade of benevolent protectiveness. Soon the two must embark on a new adventure, to the not-so-abandoned city Topside. Up here, they need a whole new set of survival skills to protect them against everything from sunlight to violent gangs of rapists and thugs—not to mention the ever-present and growing packs of Freaks. The well-developed tension is marred only by recurring inexplicable references to what readers seem to be expected to recognize as one of the more obscure stories of Victorian fantasist George MacDonald, but these are only mild stumbling blocks. All in all, this well-paced zombie-esque adventure in an urban wasteland will keep fans happy. (Science fiction. 13-15)
Pub Date: April 12, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-312-65008-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2011
Teens who have outgrown Percy Jackson and moved into the paranormal-romance phase won't mind the amateurish prose; they'll...
What if Bella Swan were a demigod?
Helen is the loveliest girl on Nantucket, but until the sexy Delos family comes to the island, she's always tried to stay under the radar. It's not just her looks that attract attention; Helen knows her strength, speed and hearing all approach superpower levels. But she can't stay hidden in the presence of the Delos cousins, Jason, Hector, Cassandra, Ariadne and the sexiest one, Lucas—yes, Lucas. (Some complicated handwaving explains why he is named Lucas instead of—as was intended—Paris.) Readers trained on trendy Greek mythological fantasy won't be surprised to learn both Helen and the newcomers are demigods. In their blonde beauty (really!), they look exactly like their quasi-mythological ancestors and are cursed by the Furies and the gods to replay ancient dramas across history. Lucas and Helen are both drawn together and forced apart by fate and desire. The cousins, meanwhile, help Helen develop her powerful demigod abilities while tutoring her on the massive forces arrayed against her. Though weirdly inconsistent perspective, startling shifts of voice and scenes that feel like they've been copied almost directly from Twilight break the flow, the drama's epic scale complements the love story's pacing. A refreshingly strong heroine carries readers into the setup for book two.
Teens who have outgrown Percy Jackson and moved into the paranormal-romance phase won't mind the amateurish prose; they'll be caught up in the we-must-we-can't sexual tension. (Paranormal romance. 13-15)Pub Date: June 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-201199-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
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