A gripping dark fantasy set in a bloodthirsty civilization.
A pair of peasant siblings take on their city’s vampiric hierarchy in Bell’s dystopian YA fantasy novel, the first in a series.
All members of the Herd—the human servants of the aristocratic Blessed—must undergo the Branding ceremony at the age of 16. Susan is no exception; during the ritual, she will swear her loyalty to the godlike Akharu, the monarchs who rule the city of Larkspur from their hilltop palace. If the Lords find her worthy, she will receive her brand and move on to marriage, motherhood, and an adult life of servitude. If she is found unworthy—like her brother Trevor was three years earlier—she will be taken and never seen again. Susan’s other brother, the blacksmith Ryan, is still a year away from the Branding, but his hatred of the Akharu for taking Trevor is so great he would prefer vengeance to servitude. When a friend asks Ryan to hide a dagger for him—one made of a brilliant metal Ryan has never seen before—he begins a journey into the secret underworld of the Closure (the home of the Herd), where he may finally get answers about how to bring down the Akharu. Meanwhile, Susan is deemed Unworthy and spirited off to the Akharu palace to serve as the plaything of tyrannical Princess Sifa. Susan must find a way to escape…or be turned into something as monstrous as her captors. Bell’s grisly prose captures Larkspur’s many varieties of violence, like the Trench, where humans captured from beyond the city battle animals gladiator-style: “The smooth stone walls were splashed in shades of red, brown, and black. Blood…Ryan’s eyes followed the stained walls down to the bottom. Huddled together at the base of the Trench were about a dozen Beasts…lean and filthy, with ragged animal skins hanging loosely from their thin frames.” Though Bell plays with established vampire lore, he does so in an inventive way that keeps the novel from ever feeling derivative. Readers will look forward to seeing how he expands this harsh world in future volumes.
A gripping dark fantasy set in a bloodthirsty civilization.Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2024
ISBN: 9798985200515
Page Count: 269
Publisher: Morning View Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 19, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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
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