An appealing if imperfect girl-power fantasy that ably sets the stage for its sequel.
The tragedy of Swan Lake gets a fantasy reimagining in this fast-paced book for teens.
Evelayn, a white teenager, is the crown princess of Éadrolan, a kingdom of light that is locked in an ancient battle with King Bain, who commands the dark powers of the rival kingdom Dorjhalon. Citizens of both realms possess supernatural powers, and Evelayn comes into her full strength while the queen is fighting in the war, though the ability to shape-shift into swan form eludes her. Evelayn must foil a plot to deprive her people of their gifts by murdering the queen who is the conduit of all the light’s power. When the worst happens, Evelayn undertakes a perilous journey to seek aid from an ancient power in an effort to prevent Bain from extinguishing the power of light permanently. Larson’s (Endure, 2016, etc.) latest novel contains many of the tropes found in modern fantasy adaptations: a feisty princess, dastardly villains, epic fights, and a love triangle. The worldbuilding is intriguing and the matrilineal conveyance of power is a neat twist, but the novel’s fascinating premise is undermined by its too-fast pacing. Readers are not given enough time to really invest in Evelayn’s struggles or the supporting characters’ before the main adventure gets underway, resulting in Evelayn’s lapse into caricature.
An appealing if imperfect girl-power fantasy that ably sets the stage for its sequel. (Fantasy. 13-17)Pub Date: May 30, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-338-06869-6
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The glimpses of monstrous action from the werewolf’s point of view don’t make up for the trite human interactions.
A teenage girl is cursed with lycanthropy.
The morning after her 16th birthday, Dominy Robineau wakes up, naked, next to the mauled corpse of her best friend. She has no memory of what happened but knows she is the killer. This is the culmination of weeks of weirdness, marked by sudden-onset hirsutism (especially painful for the pretty, popular girl), uncontrollable rages and violent outbursts—all of which her friends somehow forgive. Far too late to be helpful, her father tells her of a crime from his youth and the subsequent Native American curse placed on him: that his firstborn child would become a werewolf. Dominy and her miraculously understanding friends must find a way around the curse and the witch who cast it, Luba—who is dubbed the “Psycho Squaw” by the shamelessly politically incorrect Dominy. The monstrousness of the werewolf curse is, surprisingly, the most believable aspect of the story, a break from the usual “monster with a heart of gold” trope. Some sprawling subplots involving a mysterious set of twins and Dominy’s comatose mother don’t go anywhere. Instead, they, and hints at other supernatural creatures, remain underdeveloped in a resolution-free ending evidently set up as a teaser for further books.
The glimpses of monstrous action from the werewolf’s point of view don’t make up for the trite human interactions. (author’s letter to readers, preview of next book) (Paranormal adventure. 14-17)Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7582-8072-5
Page Count: 408
Publisher: Kensington
Review Posted Online: Dec. 25, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2013
While Esther grows as a character and the story comes to an actual conclusion, the narrative shortcuts spoil the impact;...
This trilogy opener imagines a post-apocalyptic, adult-free world in which the life expectancy is 19, due to desertification and disease.
Irresponsible, flighty Esther doesn’t fit in with the rest of Prin, her town of adult-acting teenagers. She skips out on assigned duties to play games with her best friend, a member of the hermaphroditic “variant” tribe that suddenly attacks Prin. Inexplicably, Esther fails to question why her best friend’s people are attacking and is instead furious at the townspeople’s desire to retaliate with war. To fight, Prin needs two things: weapons and instruction. Caleb, a mysterious newcomer whose wife is dead and baby has been kidnapped, arrives just in time to take the role of hero and to teach others. Esther and Caleb’s romance is inevitable. But for Prin to obtain weapons, the town must make a deal with Levi, a teenager who sits with a personal army on a large cache of supplies. A conspiracy renders the variants the least of Prin’s worries. While the ruined buildings and desert climate make an imaginative setting, and the idea of a population without adults in such a ravaged world poses intriguing questions, incomplete worldbuilding keeps readers from entering it.
While Esther grows as a character and the story comes to an actual conclusion, the narrative shortcuts spoil the impact; whether readers stick around for the next two books is an open question. (Post-apocalyptic romance. 14-17)Pub Date: March 26, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-211851-6
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
