Faced with the inconsistent plotting, indifference to geography and climate, and sloppy execution, readers are more likely...
Discovered by scientists in the Canadian Arctic and later adopted, a group of speechless but intense and powerful teens compel their older siblings to return them to that site a decade and a half later.
With their scientist parents in Ecuador, Lorna, 17, is responsible for her sister, Callie, an Arctic Recovery Orphan. Constructing an ingenious model of their destination (à la Richard Dreyfuss in Close Encounters of the Third Kind), Callie persuades Lorna to take her there. Lorna and Stan, whose ARO brother is similarly obsessed, shoulder the task. Packing snacks, warm clothes, and phone charger, the four leave Pennsylvania—guided by the AROs (Lorna names them Icelings)—and head northeast, meeting and joining with other sibling groups along the way. At a police checkpoint, only those traveling with AROs are permitted to cross into Canada. One driver, Bobby, might know what’s at stake, but he’s not sharing. Lorna, Stan, and the rest, mystified but loyal, follow their siblings’ leads. Readers will be equally confused: by the strange geography (Meat Cove, Nova Scotia, is nowhere near the Arctic) and confusing, contradictory plot. Long interior monologues fail to explain Lorna’s senseless—at times, risibly so—choices. Otherworldly discoveries are rendered in mundane imagery, while the identically pale, light-eyed, fair-haired Icelings suggest pallid takes on John Wyndham’s The Midwich Cuckoos (1957) and its comic-book and video game progeny. Narrator Lorna indicates no racial distinction between her and her sister, leading readers to believe she is white.
Faced with the inconsistent plotting, indifference to geography and climate, and sloppy execution, readers are more likely to abandon this series opener halfway than to wait for Volume 2. (Science fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Dec. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-59514-769-1
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2016
Dark, seductive, but over-the-top: Characters and book alike will enthrall those who choose to play.
Garber returns to the world of bestseller Caraval (2017), this time with the focus on younger, more daring sister Donatella.
Valenda, capital of the empire, is host to the second of Legend’s magical games in a single year, and while Scarlett doesn’t want to play again, blonde Tella is eager for a chance to prove herself. She is haunted by the memory of her death in the last game and by the cursed Deck of Destiny she used as a child which foretold her loveless future. Garber has changed many of the rules of her expanding world, which now appears to be infused with magic and evil Fates. Despite a weak plot and ultraviolet prose (“He tasted like exquisite nightmares and stolen dreams, like the wings of fallen angels, and bottles of fresh moonlight.”), this is a tour de force of imagination. Themes of love, betrayal, and the price of magic (and desire) swirl like Caraval’s enchantments, and Dante’s sensuous kisses will thrill readers as much as they do Tella. The convoluted machinations of the Prince of Hearts (one of the Fates), Legend, and even the empress serve as the impetus for Tella’s story and set up future volumes which promise to go bigger. With descriptions focusing primarily on clothing, characters’ ethnicities are often indeterminate.
Dark, seductive, but over-the-top: Characters and book alike will enthrall those who choose to play. (glossary) (Fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: May 29, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-250-09531-2
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Despite some missteps, this will appeal to readers who enjoy a fresh and realistic teen voice.
A teenage, not-so-lonely loner endures the wilds of high school in Austin, Texas.
Norris Kaplan, the protagonist of Philippe’s debut novel, is a hypersweaty, uber-snarky black, Haitian, French-Canadian pushing to survive life in his new school. His professor mom’s new tenure-track job transplants Norris mid–school year, and his biting wit and sarcasm are exposed through his cataloging of his new world in a field guide–style burn book. He’s greeted in his new life by an assortment of acquaintances, Liam, who is white and struggling with depression; Maddie, a self-sacrificing white cheerleader with a heart of gold; and Aarti, his Indian-American love interest who offers connection. Norris’ ego, fueled by his insecurities, often gets in the way of meaningful character development. The scenes showcasing his emotional growth are too brief and, despite foreshadowing, the climax falls flat because he still gets incredible personal access to people he’s hurt. A scene where Norris is confronted by his mother for getting drunk and belligerent with a white cop is diluted by his refusal or inability to grasp the severity of the situation and the resultant minor consequences. The humor is spot-on, as is the representation of the black diaspora; the opportunity for broader conversations about other topics is there, however, the uneven buildup of detailed, meaningful exchanges and the glibness of Norris’ voice detract.
Despite some missteps, this will appeal to readers who enjoy a fresh and realistic teen voice. (Fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-282411-0
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 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.
