A cluttered and ultimately unsatisfying fantasy sequel.
A spellcasting teen and her friends must keep a magical creature out of enemy hands in Marshall’s YA second fantasy novel in a series.
When crazy calls, Kori Ember answers. She’s a Spellbinder—a magic user living in a world of people who know nothing of magic. She’s helping her “normie”best friend, Fin Salinger, and her Spellbinder secret crush, Belamey Adelgrief, launch their new café. One day she gets a visit from the finicky, hiccupping shapeshifter Lord Bradig, who comes with a mission for the three friends: a magical creature has surfaced that can provide immense power to whomever bonds with it. Kori sees a photo of her target, which she describes as “the cutest little animal” with “the distinctive wrinkly shape of a gorilla’s face but on a hamster-sized body.” She and her friends must travel to Costa Rica to catch the gorilla-hamster before it falls into the wrong hands, and it’s clear from a recent attack on the café that someone’s already looking for it. Can Kori keep her cool while working in such proximity to Belamey, on whom she has a crush? Marshall’s prose is descriptive and sometimes appealingly jocular, as when Kori observes the oblivious, elfin shapeshifter: “Lord Bradig’s repositioning brought his short frame into a downward dog position….My positioning gives me an eyeful of what lies under his short green shirt. Two of the roundest, plumpest butt cheeks I’ve ever seen are up in the air.” However, Marshall spends a lot of time and text moving characters between locations without offering much in the way of context or purpose. Characters sometimes find jokes funny, or behaviors shocking, but readers aren’t always clued into the reasons why. The story is ultimately underwhelming, so readers may wonder why it feels like so much work.
A cluttered and ultimately unsatisfying fantasy sequel.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 105
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Jan. 10, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
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