A fast-paced and exciting tale of family, vicious menaces, and clashing swords.
In Rowe’s debut YA fantasy novel, teen brothers fight to prove themselves and win honor in a punishing competition.
Fifteen-year-old Erlann and his older brother, Rolf, brave Northland’s mountains, located well outside their city’s stronghold. Their father, Tyr, leads the Brond Voldur (the city guard), and the boys have brought Tyr’s sword with them. Both, however, are “uninitiated,” having not yet gone through The Trials, and they’re forbidden to even hold a sword. During the brothers’ outing, a glacier cracks, dropping Erlann into a chasm. He has a frightening encounter with Fenreir, a huge, legendary wolf; as Erlann looks into Fenreir’s eyes, he sees a startling vision of a violent future in which the brothers are at odds. Back in their city of Alstead, Tyr blames Rolf for sneaking outside the fortress and prohibits him from competing in The Trials, where he’d have the chance to win a sword. The boys’ maternal grandmother, the “once-queen” of Northland, recognizes Erlann’s precognitive ability and tells her grandson about the mysterious realm of the Great In-Between. Erlann takes part in the Trials, which begin with participants rushing across mountainous terrain to snatch a mythical creature’s egg before returning it to the starting line. The challenges don’t get any easier for Erlann, especially since Rolf is competing as well, despite their father’s objection. All the while, the nefarious warrior Thane keeps a veritable army at his command, but what are his plans? He’s unquestionably angry and malevolent, so it seems the people of Alstead may soon have a battle on their hands.
Rowe’s story is a quick read, thanks largely to its brisk pacing. In the opening scene alone, Erlann and Rolf run into all sorts of trouble, including Erlann, prior to his fall, getting injured. The Trials rarely give competitors time to breathe before they’re fighting over another sword. The prose follows suit with its concise but vibrant descriptions: “Erlann nurses his bruised bones as he walks gingerly down the hall. As his feet scrape the stone, he perceives the moans and screams of the wounded.” Erlann is an admirable young hero who showcases the honor that the law-enforcing Brond demands by becoming protective of a somewhat meek fellow participant right as The Trials begin. Others from the supporting cast are equally captivating, including Red, a mysterious boy whom the brothers meet and Rolf befriends, and Marin, a 16-year-old female competitor who, after being mocked for her gender, immediately puts the heckler in his place. While this novel predominantly centers around Erlann and Rolf, it offers hints of a deeper narrative from stories tied to Ey Sannhet (the island of truth) and the brothers’ late mother. The narrative provides a number of genuine surprises as characters betray one another, hide sinister agendas, or sadly don’t make it to the end. The final act offers resolution and closure for at least some of the cast; the author surely has a sequel planned, as various subplots and unresolved feelings are left lingering.
A fast-paced and exciting tale of family, vicious menaces, and clashing swords.Pub Date: March 21, 2025
ISBN: 9798992841114
Page Count: 198
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2026
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
An entertaining and atmospheric, though sometimes clumsy, exploration of the true cost of beauty.
In this retelling of a classic, a drama student’s obsession with beauty leads her down a dark—and possibly deadly—path.
Eighteen-year-old Penny Paxton is beginning her first year at Dorian Drama Academy in Edinburgh, Scotland, where she hopes to follow in her starlet mother’s footsteps—and earn the love that her mother has never seemed to offer. At Dorian, Penny is mentored by Royal Shakespeare Company legend Orlagh Camran, who makes her the compelling offer of a portrait by the Masked Painter, a mysterious artist with the ability to gift his subjects everlasting youth and beauty. But shortly after Penny’s portrait is complete, several of the Masked Painter’s subjects are found murdered. Fearing that she’s made a terrible mistake and may become the next victim, Penny, who’s gay, begins to investigate the murders with the help of an unlikely ally. As she attempts to uncover the truth surrounding the Masked Painter and the murders, she’s forced to reckon with her own toxic obsession with beauty. This chilling, atmospheric novel, inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray, is entertaining and full of twists, though some of the reveals feel contrived and some questions are left unanswered. The plot unravels at a leisurely pace but eventually builds to an action-packed (if somewhat convoluted) conclusion. Most characters are cued white.
An entertaining and atmospheric, though sometimes clumsy, exploration of the true cost of beauty. (content note, author’s note, bonus scene) (Fantasy thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: May 26, 2026
ISBN: 9781250346797
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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