Sparkles with magic but remains decidedly human.
Trapped between guilt and honesty, how can one find redemption?
Two years ago, in 1911, Frances Hallowell, whom readers met in The Witch Haven (2021), experienced a harrowing night in Manhattan during which she and a boy she once thought she loved opened a rift into the afterlife. Despite her magic’s not working reliably since, Frances has found a place for herself teaching at the magical academy of Haxahaven. She and her dearest friends, Maxine and Lena, set off on a trip across the sea to Paris, where Maxine’s family resides. It’s also where Oliver, Frances’ childhood friend and blossoming sweetheart, is studying. The holiday is set to be a grand time for them all, but it seems the repercussions of that fateful night have sent ripples across the magical world, opening a door to the veil in the Paris catacombs. There are also ancient organizations of male magic users eager to take advantage of its potential power—no matter the cost. Frances knows that she must help put things right again. In this sweeping adventure across high-society Paris, Smith’s descriptions evoke the magic and beauty of the city. Frances is an earnest protagonist who desperately wants to do good despite what she feels are deep personal failings—offering all the more reason for readers to root for her. The cast is predominantly White; the previous volume established Lena as Onondaga. There is also some queer representation.
Sparkles with magic but remains decidedly human. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 11, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5344-5441-5
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
A thoughtful and thrilling story of life, death, and meaning.
Two teens train to be society-sanctioned killers in an otherwise immortal world.
On post-mortal Earth, humans live long (if not particularly passionate) lives without fear of disease, aging, or accidents. Operating independently of the governing AI (called the Thunderhead since it evolved from the cloud), scythes rely on 10 commandments, quotas, and their own moral codes to glean the population. After challenging Hon. Scythe Faraday, 16-year-olds Rowan Damisch and Citra Terranova reluctantly become his apprentices. Subjected to killcraft training, exposed to numerous executions, and discouraged from becoming allies or lovers, the two find themselves engaged in a fatal competition but equally determined to fight corruption and cruelty. The vivid and often violent action unfolds slowly, anchored in complex worldbuilding and propelled by political machinations and existential musings. Scythes’ journal entries accompany Rowan’s and Citra’s dual and dueling narratives, revealing both personal struggles and societal problems. The futuristic post–2042 MidMerican world is both dystopia and utopia, free of fear, unexpected death, and blatant racism—multiracial main characters discuss their diverse ethnic percentages rather than purity—but also lacking creativity, emotion, and purpose. Elegant and elegiac, brooding but imbued with gallows humor, Shusterman’s dark tale thrusts realistic, likable teens into a surreal situation and raises deep philosophic questions.
A thoughtful and thrilling story of life, death, and meaning. (Science fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4424-7242-6
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 25, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016
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
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