Intriguing.
What good is powerful magic when society demands submissiveness?
One night in New York City in 1911, Frances Hallowell, a 17-year-old seamstress, stays up late to finish a coat in the communal workroom. Her boss, stumbling in drunk, tries to assault her but ends up with Frances’ shears in his neck. They flew across the room, as if by magic. Before she can be arrested for murder, she’s whisked away by two women posing as nurses who claim she has tuberculosis and must be treated at once. Frances discovers their ruse was cover for being taken to Haxahaven Academy, a girls’ boarding school where students dressed in black uniforms are kept safe as they learn about their various inherent magical gifts. However, safety apparently means focusing on magical housekeeping techniques and quietly learning to control their urges. Frustrated and wanting to solve the mystery of her brother’s recent death, Frances accepts an offer of lessons from her brother’s friend Finn, an Irish boy she’s been seeing in her dreams. Frances’ pragmatic, city-girl outlook keeps the story grounded despite only cursory evocations of the setting. This intensely dramatic story presents Gaelic-influenced magic as a means to empowerment and shows the strength in sisterhood. The academy operates with an inclusive definition of girl, and there is background queer representation along with some racial and ethnic diversity.
Intriguing. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 31, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-5438-5
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 10, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations.
Magic, mystery, and love intertwine and invite in this newest take on the “enchanted circus” trope.
Sisters raised by their abusive father, a governor of a colonial backwater in a world vaguely reminiscent of the late 18th century, Scarlett and Donatella each long for something more. Scarlett, olive-skinned, dark of hair and attitude, longs for Caraval, the fabled, magical circus helmed by the possibly evil Master Legend Santos, while blonde, sunny Tella finds comfort in drink and the embraces of various men. A slightly awkward start, with inconsistencies of attitude and setting, rapidly smooths out when they, along with handsome “golden-brown” sailor Julian, flee to Caraval on the eve of Scarlett’s arranged marriage. Tella disappears, and Scarlett must navigate a nighttime world of magic to find her. Caraval delights the senses: beautiful and scary, described in luscious prose, this is a show readers will wish they could enter. Dresses can be purchased for secrets or days of life; clocks can become doors; bridges move: this is an inventive and original circus, laced with an edge of horror. A double love story, one sensual romance and the other sisterly loyalty, anchors the plot, but the real star here is Caraval and its secrets.
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-09525-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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