A bloody and bold tale for those who want some Romero with their Romeo, but resolution awaits a sequel.
Young lovers and enemies try to save the city in this dystopian spin on Romeo and Juliet.
In a Ruined world, the Sisters of Thorn protect the lone city of Viyara with a magic wall sustained by human blood, but orphaned novice Runajo (the book’s Rosaline) hopes to restore the failing barrier via lost spells from the long-sealed Sunken Library. Ruthless and tiresomely righteous, Mahyanai Runajo magically bonds with the Juliet—the Catresou’s magically modified, martially trained, lethal young woman—and overcomes her qualms about necromancy and slavery in order to exploit the Juliet’s unwilling obedience in a claustrophobic and combative relationship. Hapless co-narrator Catresou Paris simultaneously mind-melds with the grief-stricken Mahyanai Romeo, and the duo plunges into the chaotic, colorful Lower City, seeking to avenge the Juliet’s alleged death and expose a necromancer through scary (if slapstick) misadventures. Old feuds and entrenched beliefs prove bigger obstacles than omnipresent but impermanent death—the protagonists rely on rituals even as revenants, reapers, and the reanimated clash with the remaining humans. Hodge puts secondary characters center-stage, lards the text liberally with Shakespeare quotes, and adds the undead, buckets of blood, and an impending apocalypse to create a rich, if repetitive retelling. Her worldbuilding emphasizes family over race; the Mahyanai are dark-haired and fair-skinned, while the Catresou go masked (though the Juliet is fair-skinned).
A bloody and bold tale for those who want some Romero with their Romeo, but resolution awaits a sequel. (Fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-236941-3
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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
Exactly what the title promises.
A grieving teen’s devotion to romance films might ruin her chances at actual romance.
Liz Buxbaum has always adored rom-coms, not least for helping her still feel close to her screenwriter mother, who died when she was little. Liz hopes that her senior year might turn into a real-life romantic fantasy, as an old crush has moved back to town, cuter and nicer than ever. Surely she can get Michael to ask her to prom. If only Wes, the annoying boy next door, would help her with her scheming! This charming, fluffy concoction manages to pack into one goofy plot every conceivable trope, from fake dating to the makeover to the big misunderstanding. Creative, quirky, daydreaming Liz is just shy of an annoying stereotype, saved by a dry wit and unresolved grief and anger. Wes makes for a delightful bad boy with a good heart, and supporting characters—including a sassy best friend, a perfect popular rival, even a (not really) evil stepmother—all get the opportunity to transcend their roles. The only villain here is Liz’s lovelorn imagination, provoking her into foolish lies that cause actual hurt feelings; but she is sufficiently self-aware to make amends just in time for the most important trope of all: a blissfully happy ending. All characters seem to be White by default.
Exactly what the title promises. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6762-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
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