This sprawling, youthfully idiosyncratic fantasy is vividly told but in need of a sure-handed edit to tone down the...
A teenage girl leaves the mundane real world and finds her destiny in the magical Lands of Forever in this lively adventure originally conceived by the author when she was the same age as her heroine.
Serena, a 16-year-old orphan, escapes an unpleasant guardian after discovering a diary that had belonged to a shipwrecked ancestor. She accompanies an expedition of men and women to the mist-shrouded spot in the Atlantic Ocean where her ancestor’s ship disappeared, only to meet the same fate—a storm leaves Serena and her companions swimming for the magical Lands of Forever. Joined by a handsome half-elf, half-human boy as they journey to Diamondia Castle to seek help from the ailing Mother of Forever, the travelers have ample time to encounter a compendium of dragons, fauns, pixies, elves, goblins, centaurs, “CatEagles” and “CatFoxes,” a leprechaun, a hippogryph, ghosts, baby fairies, satyrs, huge purple monkeys, unicorns, bicorns, tricorns, and assorted spirits of the sky, sea, caves and mountains. Judging by an unintentionally amusing vocabulary, the colorful narrative is apparently unedited by the now-adult author: “Serena’s ears popped from the pressure, and the sound that was made as they passed was incredulous”; “Jerry sighed a heavy sigh that seemed to heave upon all the hearts of the crew.” Characters speak “fraudishly” and smirks abound: “Serena sighed and smirked at the same time”; “Nelson laughed, sitting back and smirking in wonder.” Mentions of “bobbing,” “bouncing,” “lustrous,” “overhanging” and “tear-stained, fire-lit” hair curls are comically excessive. Yet despite requiring an edit for missteps and descriptive overload, this YA novel has plenty of potential fueled by exuberant imagery. Crushed by a log, killer monkeys “were flattened and pressed into the Forest floor like raisins pressed into a honeyed cake,” and a baby dragon with “bright orange and yellow scales and leathery orange wings” isn’t “much longer than a common door is tall from tip to tail.”
This sprawling, youthfully idiosyncratic fantasy is vividly told but in need of a sure-handed edit to tone down the narrative overkill.Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-1612250885
Page Count: 430
Publisher: Mirror Publishing
Review Posted Online: Dec. 3, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.
A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.
Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Plum Street Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.
In the ninth book in the Bluford young-adult series, a young Latino man walks away from violence—but at great personal cost.
In a large Southern California city, 16-year-old Martin Luna hangs out on the fringes of gang life. He’s disaffected, fatherless and increasingly drawn into the orbit of the older, rougher Frankie. When a stray bullet kills Martin’s adored 8-year-old brother, Huero, Martin seems to be heading into a life of crime. But Martin’s mother, determined not to lose another son, moves him to another neighborhood—the fictional town of Bluford, where he attends the racially diverse Bluford High. At his new school, the still-grieving Martin quickly makes enemies and gets into trouble. But he also makes friends with a kind English teacher and catches the eye of Vicky, a smart, pretty and outgoing Bluford student. Martin’s first-person narration supplies much of the book’s power. His dialogue is plain, but realistic and believable, and the authors wisely avoid the temptation to lard his speech with dated and potentially embarrassing slang. The author draws a vivid and affecting picture of Martin’s pain and confusion, bringing a tight-lipped teenager to life. In fact, Martin’s character is so well drawn that when he realizes the truth about his friend Frankie, readers won’t feel as if they are watching an after-school special, but as though they are observing the natural progression of Martin’s personal growth. This short novel appears to be aimed at urban teens who don’t often see their neighborhoods portrayed in young-adult fiction, but its sophisticated characters and affecting story will likely have much wider appeal.
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004
ISBN: 978-1591940173
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Townsend Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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