Like fruit from the Goblin Market: luscious at first bite but ultimately overripe, cloying, and empty.
Germanic legends and the Persephone myth blend with the Labyrinth film to deliver a torrid fantasy romance.
When der Erlkönig (or “Goblin King”) ensnares a Bavarian innkeeper’s daughter for his bride, her sister, Elisabeth, dares to rescue her—and take her place. “Queer and strange and unlovely,” Elisabeth devoted most of her 19 years to supporting her younger siblings. Now she can finally indulge her secret longings to compose music…and for the Goblin King himself. But at what cost? Elisabeth’s first-person voice is all extreme passion: jealousy, self-loathing, frustration, rage, desire, rapture, and grief, expressed in lush prose that feels poetic in small doses but eventually becomes exhausting. Despite all the physical sensuality, it is the descriptions of music which are most compelling; perhaps because der Erlkönig (an explicit David Bowie insert) remains shallow wish fulfilment, transforming from “austere young man” to mischievous playmate to rapacious lover to devoted swain, all with exquisite tortured angst. The remaining characters barely register; a hinted same-sex relationship between her brother and a black slave (seen as exotic in this white European setting) seems to serve mostly as a counterpoint to Elisabeth’s romantic arc. Structured as a sonata, the final movement culminates in a bittersweet sacrifice that will leave readers either savoring the delicious tragedy or irked by the unresolved plot holes.
Like fruit from the Goblin Market: luscious at first bite but ultimately overripe, cloying, and empty. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-07921-3
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Dunne/St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Nov. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 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
A troubling depiction of an unhealthy relationship.
A battered girl and an injured rugby star spark up an ill-advised romance at an Irish secondary school.
Beautiful, waiflike, 15-year-old Shannon has lived her entire life in Ballylaggin. Alternately bullied at school and beaten by her ne’er-do-well father, she’s hopeful for a fresh start at Tommen, a private school. Seventeen-year-old Johnny, who has a hair-trigger temper and a severe groin injury, is used to Dublin’s elite-level rugby but, since his family’s move to County Cork, is now stuck captaining Tommen’s middling team. When Johnny angrily kicks a ball and knocks Shannon unconscious (“a soft female groan came from her lips”), a tentative relationship is born. As the two grow closer, Johnny’s past and Shannon’s present become serious obstacles to their budding love, threatening Shannon’s safety. Shannon’s portrayal feels infantilized (“I looked down at the tiny little female under my arm”), while Johnny comes across as borderline obsessive (“I knew I shouldn’t be touching her, but how the hell could I not?”). Uneven pacing and choppy sentences lead to a sudden climax and an unsatisfyingly abrupt ending. Repetitive descriptions, abundant and misogynistic dialogue (Johnny, to his best friend: “who’s the bitch with a vagina now?”), and graphic violence also weigh down this lengthy tome (considerably trimmed down from its original, self-published length). The cast of lively, well-developed supporting characters, especially Johnny’s best friend and Shannon’s protective older brother, is a bright spot. Major characters read white.
A troubling depiction of an unhealthy relationship. (author’s note, pronunciations, glossary, song moments, playlists) (Romance. 16-18)Pub Date: Nov. 28, 2023
ISBN: 9781728299945
Page Count: 626
Publisher: Bloom Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
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