Only marginally intriguing.
In a remote part of Utah, in a “temple of excellence,” the best of the best are recruited to nurture their talents.
Redemption Preparatory is a cross between the Vatican and a top-secret research facility: The school is rooted in Christian ideology (but very few students are Christian), Mass is compulsory, cameras capture everything, and “maintenance” workers carry Tasers. When talented poet Emma disappears, three students, distrusting of the school administration, launch their own investigation. Brilliant chemist Neesha believes Emma has run away to avoid taking the heat for the duo’s illegal drug enterprise. Her boyfriend, an athlete called Aiden, naturally wants to find her. Evan, a chess prodigy who relies on patterns and has difficulty processing social signals, believes he knows Emma better than anyone. While the school is an insidious character on its own and the big reveal is slightly psychologically disturbing, Evan’s positioning as a tragic hero with an uncertain fate—which is connected to his stalking of Emma (even before her disappearance)—is far more unsettling. The ’90s setting provides the backdrop for tongue-in-cheek technological references but doesn’t do anything for the plot. Student testimonials and voice-to-text transcripts punctuate the three-way third-person narration that alternates among Neesha, Evan, and Aiden. Emma, Aiden, and Evan are assumed to be white; Neesha is Indian. Students are from all over the world, including Asia and the Middle East.
Only marginally intriguing. (Mystery. 15-18)Pub Date: April 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-266203-3
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Series fans will be thrilled by this screamingly funny return to Hell.
The Devil’s Intern series continues, narrated this time by Alfarin the Viking prince.
This hugely imaginative and entertaining series follows the adventures of four young devils trapped in Hell despite the fact that they are really very decent people. Team DEVIL consists of Mitchell and Medusa, both recently deceased teenagers, plus Elinor, who died in the Great Fire of London in 1666, and Alfarin, dead for 1,000 years and the leader of this book’s adventures. The Devil’s wife (and the titular Banshee), Beatrice Morrigan, has escaped into one of the Nine Circles of Hell, leaving Elinor, and perhaps Mitchell’s little brother, to become his Dreamcatcher, the soul required to filter the Devil’s awful dreams while he sleeps. Alfarin, who loves Elinor with all of his dead heart, knows he must save her by finding Beatrice, so he leads the team into the Nine Circles. Guided by Virgil himself, the team retraces the Divine Comedy by going through the circles in reverse order. Plenty of action and suspense ensue, but Hosie keeps the focus on the wry comedy generated by Alfarin’s unique outlook on life and on his own magnificent manliness. Alfarin has no doubt about his superior masculinity and constantly remarks on the Viking way of doing things in a consistently and amusingly formal voice, and all of this will keep readers chuckling.
Series fans will be thrilled by this screamingly funny return to Hell. (Paranormal suspense. 15 & up)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3650-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
Indelible characters, both good and evil, and a rescue storyline that refuses to dawdle.
In this second installment of a YA fantasy series, a boy’s friends rush to save him before a teen witch surrenders to dark magic.
Thirteen-year-old Sam Barconian, once a typical boy in Pilot Rock, Oregon, is battling evil witches in the Ninth Realm, Orkney. A descendant of both god Odin and he-witch Rubicus, Sam has the potential to become powerful but is still learning how to wield his magic. Unfortunately, he’s an ideal weapon for witch Catriona, who craves vengeance, having long ago witnessed Odin kill her father, Rubicus. She wants Sam on her side to kill Odin, which will likewise return Orkney to Earth, separated by the god for fear that magic would destroy the world. Meanwhile, Odin summons Sam’s Earth pals, Keely, Howie, and Leo, to Orkney. To see which path to take, Keely drinks from sage Mimir’s well, with an ensuing vision giving the trio ominous roles: she as The Seeker; Howie, Orkney’s Protector; and Leo, The Sacrifice. Keely further knows that Sam’s a captive of Catriona, who convinces him his friends’ futures are dire. Eventually succumbing to her persuasion, he becomes Kalifus, a servant of Catriona and her sister witches. At the same time, Keely searches for the Moon Pearl that reputedly can defeat the witches and pull Sam away from the darkness. The animated tale opens with action and ends in kind. Adams (The Egg Thief, 2016, etc.) is a master of exposition, never letting it slow the narrative by immersing it in rapid-fire dialogue: Keely learns of the pearl in a scene involving multiple characters—and squabbling from impetuous witch Mavery. Sam, whose discovery of his origin in The Red Sun (2015) was the series’ catalyst, is less of a protagonist this time, teetering between hero and villain, with his rescue driving the plot. But Keely handles the lead with panache, facing the same dilemmas as Sam, like struggling to understand her own magic (courtesy of Mimir’s drink). Leo’s inclusion adds suspense (will he be sacrificed?), while Howie serves as comic relief, asserting that Odin, in designating him Protector, was “just being optimistic about [his] prospects.” The Norse mythology–infused story also features a surprise appearance by a much more recognizable individual.
Indelible characters, both good and evil, and a rescue storyline that refuses to dawdle.Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-940716-84-8
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Spark Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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