A well-constructed take on a famous fairy tale and heroine.
Slayton (Liz and Nellie, 2016, etc.) offers a 19th-century update of “Sleeping Beauty” in this YA novel.
In a town in Vermont, 16-year-old Briar Rose Jenny works at the spinning mill to take care of her three younger siblings following the deaths of her parents. It’s been difficult: Briar can’t quite make ends meet, and when she tries to pick up sewing work from her neighbors, she faces anti-Irish hostility. To make matters worse, her fiance abruptly calls off their engagement and now flaunts his new relationship before Briar’s eyes. What’s more, the children’s babysitter keeps going on about fairies and “Sleeping Beauty,” and Briar’s only friend, the goofy-but-chivalrous Henry Prince, is sailing away for Europe. Briar is tempted, then, when a peddler offers a solution to all her problems: “It was unlike any spindle Briar had ever seen before. The whorl was carved with roses and the wooden shaft, stained a light brown, came to an unusually sharp point on the end.” The peddler claims the spindle will bring prosperity to anyone who uses it, allowing her to spin faster than all the other girls at the mill. Briar leaps at the opportunity to make more money and keep custody of her siblings, but the secrets of the spindle—and their connections to an old story in which Briar does not believe—may prove not just dangerous, but deadly. Slayton, a natural storyteller, writes in smooth, practical prose that nevertheless manages to retain the romance and mystery one expects from a fairy tale. The placement of the yarn in the context of an immigrant family in an industrial mill town makes for an intriguing contrast with the original version. That said, there’s little reinvention of the wheel. The book rests comfortably within its genre, and things end up about where the reader expects them. Slayton aims to tell a simple, compelling story about responsibility, expectation, disappointment, and love, and she succeeds in doing so.
A well-constructed take on a famous fairy tale and heroine.Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-63375-493-5
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
Ideal for readers seeking perspectives on war, with a heavy dash of romance and touch of fantasy.
A war between gods plays havoc with mortals and their everyday lives.
In a time of typewriters and steam engines, Iris Winnow awaits word from her older brother, who has enlisted on the side of Enva the Skyward goddess. Alcohol abuse led to her mother’s losing her job, and Iris has dropped out of school and found work utilizing her writing skills at the Oath Gazette. Hiding the stress of her home issues behind a brave face, Iris competes for valuable assignments that may one day earn her the coveted columnist position. Her rival for the job is handsome and wealthy Roman Kitt, whose prose entrances her so much she avoids reading his articles. At home, she writes cathartic letters to her brother, never posting them but instead placing them in her wardrobe, where they vanish overnight. One day Iris receives a reply, which, along with other events, pushes her to make dramatic life decisions. Magic plays a quiet role in this story, and readers may for a time forget there is anything supernatural going on. This is more of a wartime tale of broken families, inspired youths, and higher powers using people as pawns. It flirts with clichéd tropes but also takes some startling turns. Main characters are assumed White; same-sex marriages and gender equality at the warfront appear to be the norm in this world.
Ideal for readers seeking perspectives on war, with a heavy dash of romance and touch of fantasy. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-85743-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
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