A robust, well-realized universe that sparkles with promise.
The first book of a prospective trilogy, Wier’s debut fantasy novel follows a young girl whose link to the cosmos will decide the fate of an age-old war of light versus dark.
To celebrate her upcoming 17th birthday, Kira decides to swim under the stars at a local lake. But when she wades into the water, she narrowly escapes a fatal collision with a falling object. An unconscious Kira dreams of a tunnel and starlight that transport her to an alternate universe that mirrors her own. This world features a carnival full of eccentric characters—time-traveling gypsies, snaggletooth attendants, and a handsome farm boy who tells her she came to him by way of a psychic connection. The novel includes various YA trademarks: teenage love triangles, broken families, and the Campbell-ian monomyth. Kira’s search for her long-lost father doubles as a search for herself. Taken in by the gravitational pull of an alternate universe, she begins to discover mysteries about her identity, including theories about her father. When she discovers her light is dying, she faces a major decision; torn between her curiosity about this new world and her nostalgia for home, Kira finds herself in a race against the dying of her light, which, once extinguished, will trap her in whichever world she is in at the time of its dimming. By following through on these consequences, the author adds weight to Kira’s decisions. Wier’s prose is largely conversational, though she paints Kira’s quieter meditations with dreamy visuals that parallel the story’s landscape: “Eyes closed, I hid in the dark, visible only to our moons, floating like two paper lanterns in the starlit sky.” Instead of being a navel-gazer about a 17-year-old’s effort to discover life’s meaning, the novel delivers an action-driven storyline on the universal desire to set one’s own course.
A robust, well-realized universe that sparkles with promise.Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-942111-01-6
Page Count: 318
Publisher: REUTS Publications
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Delights with characters defined by their actions not their superpowers.
Five teens with heightened senses and newly acquired fighting skills battle a formidable villain and his henchmen who have besieged an entire town in Smith’s energetic YA adventure debut.
Kinsu, Chase, Alex, Jordan, and Rhee are the stars of Danville Heights’ high school football team. But this doesn’t prepare them for what they find in the community’s nature preserve, which residents generally regard as off limits. Fresh off a regional championship, the boys trek through the forested area and encounter strange floating balls of light. Next thing they know, they awaken with amplified senses—Kinsu has sharp vision; Jordan, boosted hearing—and an instinctual connection to one another. They also have a newfound martial arts prowess, which they put to use in nearby Sandry Lake. The town has been overtaken by Druth, an evil, enigmatic being whose goons routinely steal from and assault citizens. The boys, however, will need help overthrowing Druth. This superhero story centers more on hero than super. Smith builds a solid foundation for the characters by first introducing the teens individually and highlighting their football game before they procure their powers. The boys don’t develop their martial arts, which is just another gift: “Somehow we’re good at it,” Chase points out to the others. Smith does knock out a few stellar action sequences, but the novel is more about why destiny has apparently tapped the five boys. Mysterious elements, meanwhile, ultimately emerge, including the identities of the Dark Stranger, acting as a guide for the boys’ fight against Druth, and the equally adept (and helpful) “girl”—though she’s in her late 30s. Smith’s approach limits the violence and seems to target a young-adult audience. But her writing is intelligent and often lyrical, like the description of various sounds Jordan hears as colors in motion. And while she tends to recap kicks and punches rather than specify maneuvers, her exuberant prose never fails to dazzle: “They vowed to kick butt without warning,” the narrative declares, “much to the dismay of the dreaded Druth.”
Delights with characters defined by their actions not their superpowers.Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-9894747-5-7
Page Count: 300
Publisher: Two Petals Publishing
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An optimistic, colorful novel that delivers pixies, potions, and fanciful creatures.
An alchemist and his teenage apprentice hide precious stones from their scientific academy rivals in this debut YA fantasy.
In the land of Terra Copia lies the town of Abylant. There, first-class alchemist Sir H.U. Duffy runs an apothecary called A Pot He Carries. For the last two years he’s overseen the education of 12-year-old Mendel MacKeenie, a boy frequently abused by his father. When Mendel reaches 13, he’ll be eligible to attend the Living Arts Academy, where Duffy once taught. One morning, Don Horus Clapstone, from the Academy of Advanced Disciplines, visits the apothecary, searching for the dangerous and valuable Putrid’s Heart—a rare stone capable of summoning great evil. Duffy sends Capstone and his agents on a wild goose chase; later, the alchemist removes two Putrid’s Hearts from a hidden location, along with the journal of Sir Charles Mostly, the alchemist who mistakenly unleashed evil during the Old Regime. Duffy plans to place the Putrid’s Hearts where Clapstone can’t find them. He depends on Mendel, his carnivorous horse Gooder, a wily gusselsnuff pup named Esther, and others to complete a perilous journey across Terra Copia. Mendel, while venturing through Truegone Valley battling vicious pixies and more, begins seeing silver equations dance in his vision. Could they relate to the Alchemist’s Theorem, a universal equation that would result in an understanding of all living things? Chiavetta employs a gale-force imagination in conjuring her alchemical realm, central to which is Mendel’s battle against self-doubt. Throughout the narrative, “the thought” repeatedly creeps up his leg, telling him things like “his existence made other people unhappy.” While this element grounds the tale, the author creates endlessly whimsical potions—one includes “soggy butterfig” and “powdered pixie’s blood”—and creatures, like the shape-shifting “cappamorph” caterpillar. The presentation of gay characters Sir Brandiheart and Master Peatree is charming. While immersed in this crowd-pleasing adventure, young readers should marvel at Chiavetta’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland vibe, and adults should appreciate the sweeping mythos.
An optimistic, colorful novel that delivers pixies, potions, and fanciful creatures.Pub Date: Nov. 6, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-9966418-0-7
Page Count: 224
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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