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WEATHER WITCH

The partially defined world has potential but not enough to overcome the plot contrivances.

The lives of an accused Witch, her would-be suitor and the man seeking to develop her alleged magic all intersect in an alternate-history fantasy.

Lady Jordan Astraea lives a life of luxury in the strict (yet woefully underdefined) class system of the New World of 1844. In this history, the colonists escaped the Old World for a land where magic is strictly outlawed. On the night of her high-society 17th birthday, Lady Jordan is victimized, accused of being a Weather Witch. The mystery behind Jordan’s false accusation, obvious to readers, takes her the entire book to partially solve. Luckily, arresting Jordan means removing her from high society and the overly descriptive, lengthy sentences that aim to demonstrate rich decadence but end up clunky and baffling. Jordan is brought to the Maker, Bran Marshall, whose job is to torture witches. This somehow turns them into Conductors, an energy source used in place of electricity and steam power. Bran’s storyline, involving a newly arrived illegitimate daughter, features another painfully predictable twist as he grapples with the nature of his work. The bright spot is Jordan’s not-quite boyfriend, a witty lush who achieves heroism. The ending leaves almost all storylines open to set up for a sequel.

The partially defined world has potential but not enough to overcome the plot contrivances. (Fantasy. 12-14)

Pub Date: June 25, 2013

ISBN: 978-1-250-01851-9

Page Count: 320

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Review Posted Online: March 26, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013

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ONCE A QUEEN

Evocations of Narnia are not enough to salvage this fantasy, which struggles with thin character development.

A portal fantasy survivor story from an established devotional writer.

Fourteen-year-old Eva’s maternal grandmother lives on a grand estate in England; Eva and her academic parents live in New Haven, Connecticut. When she and Mum finally visit Carrick Hall, Eva is alternately resentful at what she’s missed and overjoyed to connect with sometimes aloof Grandmother. Alongside questions of Eva’s family history, the summer is permeated by a greater mystery surrounding the work of fictional children’s fantasy writer A.H.W. Clifton, who wrote a Narnialike series that Eva adores. As it happens, Grandmother was one of several children who entered and ruled Ternival, the world of Clifton’s books; the others perished in 1952, and Grandmother hasn’t recovered. The Narnia influences are strong—Eva’s grandmother is the Susan figure who’s repudiated both magic and God—and the ensuing trauma has created rifts that echo through her relationships with her daughter and granddaughter. An early narrative implication that Eva will visit Ternival to set things right barely materializes in this series opener; meanwhile, the religious parable overwhelms the magic elements as the story winds on. The serviceable plot is weakened by shallow characterization. Little backstory appears other than that which immediately concerns the plot, and Eva tends to respond emotionally as the story requires—resentful when her seething silence is required, immediately trusting toward characters readers need to trust. Major characters are cued white.

Evocations of Narnia are not enough to salvage this fantasy, which struggles with thin character development. (author’s note, map, author Q&A) (Religious fantasy. 12-14)

Pub Date: Jan. 30, 2024

ISBN: 9780593194454

Page Count: 384

Publisher: WaterBrook

Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023

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LEGEND

From the Legend series , Vol. 1

This is no didactic near-future warning of present evils, but a cinematic adventure featuring endearing, compelling heroes

A gripping thriller in dystopic future Los Angeles.

Fifteen-year-olds June and Day live completely different lives in the glorious Republic. June is rich and brilliant, the only candidate ever to get a perfect score in the Trials, and is destined for a glowing career in the military. She looks forward to the day when she can join up and fight the Republic’s treacherous enemies east of the Dakotas. Day, on the other hand, is an anonymous street rat, a slum child who failed his own Trial. He's also the Republic's most wanted criminal, prone to stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. When tragedies strike both their families, the two brilliant teens are thrown into direct opposition. In alternating first-person narratives, Day and June experience coming-of-age adventures in the midst of spying, theft and daredevil combat. Their voices are distinct and richly drawn, from Day’s self-deprecating affection for others to June's Holmesian attention to detail. All the flavor of a post-apocalyptic setting—plagues, class warfare, maniacal soldiers—escalates to greater complexity while leaving space for further worldbuilding in the sequel.

This is no didactic near-future warning of present evils, but a cinematic adventure featuring endearing, compelling heroes . (Science fiction. 12-14)

Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2011

ISBN: 978-0-399-25675-2

Page Count: 336

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: April 8, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011

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