This supernatural page-turner with twists will leave readers wishing they had fairy wings.
Amethyst is a growing teen. The question is, what is she growing into?
Something is wrong with Amethyst: Her skin is sprouting spiky green thorns, and webs of roots are developing under her skin. Besides this, Amethyst has a fear of being attacked again. Ten years ago, Amethyst was mesmerized by tiny, floating lights that whispered her name, and she followed them into the midnight woods, where a monster attempted to kidnap her. When she regained consciousness, she learned her mother had vanished. Now her father and therapist give her an ultimatum to deal with her intense anxiety: Spend a summer with her estranged grandmother or be committed to an inpatient facility. Deciding on time with Gran, Amethyst is welcomed to town by the handsome and charming Ben, who helps her dig up information on her mother. Their search results in Amethyst’s meeting the mysterious and dangerous fairy Absynth, her mother’s twin sister who lives in the woods nearby. After learning that she too has fairy blood, Amethyst has to make a decision: stay fully human and let her love for Ben blossom or become a full fairy, leaving her human life behind forever. Though some of her decisions seem rushed, Amethyst grows in ways that will be familiar and comforting to readers, and both worlds, fairy and human, are fully developed. Human characters are white; fairies have varying skin tones.
This supernatural page-turner with twists will leave readers wishing they had fairy wings. (Paranormal. 12-18)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-951710-36-1
Page Count: 270
Publisher: Month9Books
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
Part cautionary tale, part juicy love story, this will appeal to action and adventure fans who aren't yet sick of the genre.
A dystopic thriller joins the crowded shelves but doesn't distinguish itself.
Juliette was torn from her home and thrown into an asylum by The Reestablishment, a militaristic regime in control since an environmental catastrophe left society in ruins. Juliette’s journal holds her tortured thoughts in an attempt to repress memories of the horrific act that landed her in a cell. Mysteriously, Juliette’s touch kills. After months of isolation, her captors suddenly give her a cellmate—Adam, a drop-dead gorgeous guy. Adam, it turns out, is immune to her deadly touch. Unfortunately, he’s a soldier under orders from Warner, a power-hungry 19-year-old. But Adam belongs to a resistance movement; he helps Juliette escape to their stronghold, where she finds that she’s not the only one with superhuman abilities. The ending falls flat as the plot devolves into comic-book territory. Fast-paced action scenes convey imminent danger vividly, but there’s little sense of a broader world here. Overreliance on metaphor to express Juliette’s jaw-dropping surprise wears thin: “My mouth is sitting on my kneecaps. My eyebrows are dangling from the ceiling.” For all of her independence and superpowers, Juliette never moves beyond her role as a pawn in someone else’s schemes.
Part cautionary tale, part juicy love story, this will appeal to action and adventure fans who aren't yet sick of the genre. (Science fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-208548-1
Page Count: 352
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
SEEN & HEARD
Frustratingly slow and lacking in magical wonder.
Despite living her happily-ever-after, Evangeline can’t help but strive to recover her lost memories in this trilogy closer.
Evangeline Fox awakens in the strong arms of Prince Apollo, her apparent husband, who swears to protect her from the evil Lord Jacks, who stole her memories. Unfortunately, Evangeline remembers nothing of her long and complex journey in the Magnificent North or her past romances; only the pain in her heart lets her know something is missing. At Wolf Hall, Evangeline seeks ways to unlock her missing memories, including enlisting the help of a mysterious guard named Archer, even as Apollo’s behavior becomes more and more controlling. The pacing and plot feel stagnant at first, with Evangeline remembering things in flashes and moments of brief feelings, but things finally pick up once her memories return. With the point of view rotating among Evangeline, Apollo, and Jacks, there are few narrative surprises, but it’s intriguing to delve into the minds of an antagonist and a Fate. The story’s inclusion of the legendary Valors and the fantastical fairy-tale setting are unfortunately overshadowed by the love triangle’s dramatic tug-of-war romance. Likewise, the book’s various themes—power, hope, stories, and the nature of humanity—are of interest but handled in an unfocused way. The conclusion, at least, is satisfying, and it hints at future tales set in this world. Evangeline, Jacks, and Archer read white; Apollo has dark hair and olive skin.
Frustratingly slow and lacking in magical wonder. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 24, 2023
ISBN: 9781250851208
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2023
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