A quick but complex read—enjoyable on both counts.
Telekinetic teen Kayla lives a charmed life with her hippie mom until the past catches up with them.
Kayla’s mother, Moonbeam, covers their California cottage with spells and amulets, but her New-Age exterior and excessive eccentricities mask both true power and a fear of her husband, who (may have) killed their other daughter, Amanda. Having spent the last eight years on the run, Kayla is always prepared to fight or flee. Despite her mother’s orders to keep a low profile and never use her powers, Kayla employs her telekinesis to shoplift, pick pockets and generally cause havoc while hanging out with her rich friend, Selena. When a boy named Daniel approaches Kayla for help rescuing his kidnapped, cold-fish academic mother, Kayla finds herself teleported around the world in search of three magical stones. The stones are essentially a narrative MacGuffin, making the teens confront their irresponsible parents and discover the source of their powers; as voodoo queen Marguerite remarks, “Who hides an evil spell and then leaves a map?” While the novel starts simply enough, it soon takes a kitchen-sink approach, layering issues of domestic abuse, fraught parent-child relationships and amoral power plays beneath teen romances, tourism and dizzying action sequences. Thankfully, Durst leavens the angst and childhood trauma with snappy dialogue, snarky teens and explosive exploits.
A quick but complex read—enjoyable on both counts. (Fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-8027-3755-7
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Walker
Review Posted Online: Aug. 5, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
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
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and...
A deliciously creepy page-turning gem from first-time writer and illustrator Brosgol finds brooding teenager Anya trying to escape the past—both her own and the ghost haunting her.
Anya feels out of place at her preppy private school; embarrassed by her Russian heritage, she has worked hard to lose her accent and to look more like everyone else. After a particularly frustrating morning at the bus stop, Anya storms off, only to accidentally fall down a well. Down in the dark hole, she meets Emily, a ghost who claims to be a murder victim trapped down in the dank abyss for 90 years. With Emily’s help, Anya manages to escape, though once free, she learns that Emily has traveled out with her. At first, Emily seems like the perfect friend; however, once her motives become clear, Anya learns that “perfect” may only be an illusion. A moodily atmospheric spectrum of grays washes over the clean, tidy panels, setting a distinct stage before the first words appear. Brosgol’s tight storytelling invokes the chilling feeling of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (2002), though for a decidedly older set.
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and outward appearance. (Graphic supernatural fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: June 7, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59643-552-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
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