A lot of creative ideas that don’t quite come together, but fans of the first book will enjoy the continuation of the story.
An unlikely group of heroes must find a way to survive—and save a nation.
Picking up immediately after events in The Smoke Thieves (2018), the battle over Rossarb rages, and it quickly becomes clear that the city is lost and the only choice left is to flee to the Northern Plateau, into demon country. Catherine, a princess fighting against her own country; Ambrose, her knight, protector, and possibly more; Edyon, the illegitimate son of a prince; March, a servant with mixed allegiances; and Tash, a scrappy young demon hunter, along with a few loyal soldiers, run for their lives with the Brigantine army on their heels. Entering the demon world leads them into a lair of magic and violence that pushes each toward their own destiny. In this uneven book, some elements feel well thought out, particularly those relating to the construction of the demon world. However, the characters are mostly one-dimensional, making it hard for readers to feel invested in whether they live or die or even in their romances (which lack chemistry). Considering the length, there is very little progress or action, and showing often takes precedence over telling, making certain points feel heavy-handed.
A lot of creative ideas that don’t quite come together, but fans of the first book will enjoy the continuation of the story. (map, places and characters) (Fantasy. 13-16)Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-425-29024-8
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 5, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
Valuable for showing a miserable fat protagonist getting happier—without the seemingly obligatory weight-loss arc.
How much derision can a teen endure?
Chelsea has a fantastic singing voice, dark brown curly hair, beautiful feet, and skin that she describes (never mentioning race; everyone seems white) as both “olive” and “pink.” Also, she’s fat. She knows it’s unfair that “overweight people are modern-day lepers,” but that doesn’t alleviate the pain of her mother’s enforced food restrictions, schoolmates who bump, poke, taunt, and leer, and little kids who chant, “Fatty, fatty, two-by-four. Couldn’t fit through the bathroom door. So she did it on the floor.” In her corner are kooky classmate Melody, Chelsea’s first friend, and Dad, who makes tasty snacks for her, sings along to movie musicals with her, and saves money for her life goal: opening a shoe store. Chelsea slogs through dismal days, and then things get worse. Fat-hating bullies, sublimating their attraction to her, beat her, rip her shirt and bra, and post photos of her breasts online. Struyk-Bonn portrays the assault’s aftermath particularly well, deftly showing Chelsea’s traumatization through actions rather than emotional descriptions. After a while, Chelsea pulls herself back up, using a film autobiography assignment, a therapist, Melody, and a crucial, empowering declaration about not having lost any weight: “Who cares?” It’s not a loud victory, but it’s a relieving one.
Valuable for showing a miserable fat protagonist getting happier—without the seemingly obligatory weight-loss arc. (Fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-63079-047-9
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Switch/Capstone
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
Worth reading for its unanswered questions if not for its heart.
Adam and the other sentient, robot Pioneers return to battle evil Sigma, who targets Adam's hometown and everyone he loves by pitting the Pioneers against one another.
In this mission, the Pioneers are acutely aware that their high-tech bodies are prosthetic—not immortal. Their vulnerability, combined with civilians' fear of or pity for their robot forms, raises unexplored comparisons to their former disabled bodies. But while the Pioneers frequently explored the differences between their human and robot selves in The Six (2015), here they could well be humans with superpowers. Adam's emotions are analogous to humans', but his analyses could dull readers' reactions. The rules of robot romance (robo-mance?) are clever, but it's unclear how—even with sensors—the Pioneers can feel emotions so intensely without organs. However, if neuromorphology can apparently outstrip some laws of physics, mechanics may be moot. This superpower creates another deus ex machina, which suggests ominous consequences for technological evolution but also cheapens Adam's earlier vulnerability. Though emotion is technically crucial to the plot, action overwhelms it. Fans of Transformers might enjoy the robots' diverse weaponry, but Adam's dense blow-by-blow battle narration also makes the action potentially hard to visualize. (Robots seem to be able to process onslaughts of information effortlessly, but readers may not.) An abrupt cliffhanger sets up the next book.
Worth reading for its unanswered questions if not for its heart. (Science fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4926-3170-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
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