This flaw aside, the book’s down-to-earth teenagers, bonded by adventure, will have readers rooting for the allies to...
After defeating a supervillain from the future in the first book of the Time Shift trilogy, The Year of Lightning (2016), the time travelers from Emmett’s Bluff feel they’ve just barely recovered when they now encounter a new threat from the Time continuum.
The action starts when white teenage twins Malcolm and Valentine, along with their diverse, intergenerational team of friends, discover fair-complexioned Asha and her olive-skinned brother, Tyrathorn, time-traveling warriors who emerge suddenly from another time. The unexpected visitors are children of royalty from the ancient kingdom of Everwatch who have suffered an ambush at the hands of evil Chronauri forces. It appears that a war playing out in Everwatch will come to Emmett’s Bluff, and chaos will spread in the universe if Time is not protected from the evil forces of the Black Tempest. It is at this fateful meeting that Malcolm and Valentine discover the root of their powers, as Asha informs them that they are also Chronauri, and they must learn how to control them in order to save the universe. Dalton orients readers quickly to the back story from Book 1 before plunging into this chapter of the trilogy. He struggles with his depictions of diversity, utilizing a stereotyped version of African-American vernacular for his black characters’ dialogue.
This flaw aside, the book’s down-to-earth teenagers, bonded by adventure, will have readers rooting for the allies to prevail. (Science fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: April 25, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-63163-106-1
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Jolly Fish Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations.
Magic, mystery, and love intertwine and invite in this newest take on the “enchanted circus” trope.
Sisters raised by their abusive father, a governor of a colonial backwater in a world vaguely reminiscent of the late 18th century, Scarlett and Donatella each long for something more. Scarlett, olive-skinned, dark of hair and attitude, longs for Caraval, the fabled, magical circus helmed by the possibly evil Master Legend Santos, while blonde, sunny Tella finds comfort in drink and the embraces of various men. A slightly awkward start, with inconsistencies of attitude and setting, rapidly smooths out when they, along with handsome “golden-brown” sailor Julian, flee to Caraval on the eve of Scarlett’s arranged marriage. Tella disappears, and Scarlett must navigate a nighttime world of magic to find her. Caraval delights the senses: beautiful and scary, described in luscious prose, this is a show readers will wish they could enter. Dresses can be purchased for secrets or days of life; clocks can become doors; bridges move: this is an inventive and original circus, laced with an edge of horror. A double love story, one sensual romance and the other sisterly loyalty, anchors the plot, but the real star here is Caraval and its secrets.
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-09525-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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