In this fascinating but frustrating sequel to Wolf Tower (2000), Lee continues her heroine’s imaginary journal. Claidi is blissfully preparing for her wedding to the tribal chieftain Argul when she is kidnapped by agents of the Towers, whose Law she destroyed in the previous story. She is taken to the Rise, a clifflike palace powered by a stupendous waterfall, where creatures evolve oddly, and rooms wander about inexplicably under the baneful Wolf Star. Despite her fury at her abduction and her longing for Argul, Claidi is intrigued by the Rise’s eccentric wonders, and drawn to its peculiar inhabitants—the surly prince Venn and his strange servants—only to discover that Venn’s peculiarities are linked to both Argul and her own shrouded past. Lee pieces together an intricate, disturbingly different, world, and Claidi remains an engaging character, delightfully down-to-earth among marvels. But Venn, despite his deep wounds, seems remarkably unsympathetic, and the remaining characters are little more than ciphers. While the narrative deepens and extends the themes of iconoclasm and self-reliance from Wolf Tower, it suffers the typical flaws of a series novel: too much action without anything really happening, and minor questions resolved while, through a preposterous deus ex machina, major mysteries are left hanging. Although helpful artifacts keep popping up at convenient plot points, the underlying nature of science/magic remains muddled. As part of the series, this is essential; but as a standalone, it’s likely to leave readers as much puzzled as enchanted. (Fiction. 11+)
Pub Date: June 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-525-46673-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2001
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and...
A deliciously creepy page-turning gem from first-time writer and illustrator Brosgol finds brooding teenager Anya trying to escape the past—both her own and the ghost haunting her.
Anya feels out of place at her preppy private school; embarrassed by her Russian heritage, she has worked hard to lose her accent and to look more like everyone else. After a particularly frustrating morning at the bus stop, Anya storms off, only to accidentally fall down a well. Down in the dark hole, she meets Emily, a ghost who claims to be a murder victim trapped down in the dank abyss for 90 years. With Emily’s help, Anya manages to escape, though once free, she learns that Emily has traveled out with her. At first, Emily seems like the perfect friend; however, once her motives become clear, Anya learns that “perfect” may only be an illusion. A moodily atmospheric spectrum of grays washes over the clean, tidy panels, setting a distinct stage before the first words appear. Brosgol’s tight storytelling invokes the chilling feeling of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (2002), though for a decidedly older set.
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and outward appearance. (Graphic supernatural fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: June 7, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59643-552-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
Wrought with admirable skill—the emptiness and menace underlying this Utopia emerge step by inexorable step: a richly...
In a radical departure from her realistic fiction and comic chronicles of Anastasia, Lowry creates a chilling, tightly controlled future society where all controversy, pain, and choice have been expunged, each childhood year has its privileges and responsibilities, and family members are selected for compatibility.
As Jonas approaches the "Ceremony of Twelve," he wonders what his adult "Assignment" will be. Father, a "Nurturer," cares for "newchildren"; Mother works in the "Department of Justice"; but Jonas's admitted talents suggest no particular calling. In the event, he is named "Receiver," to replace an Elder with a unique function: holding the community's memories—painful, troubling, or prone to lead (like love) to disorder; the Elder ("The Giver") now begins to transfer these memories to Jonas. The process is deeply disturbing; for the first time, Jonas learns about ordinary things like color, the sun, snow, and mountains, as well as love, war, and death: the ceremony known as "release" is revealed to be murder. Horrified, Jonas plots escape to "Elsewhere," a step he believes will return the memories to all the people, but his timing is upset by a decision to release a newchild he has come to love. Ill-equipped, Jonas sets out with the baby on a desperate journey whose enigmatic conclusion resonates with allegory: Jonas may be a Christ figure, but the contrasts here with Christian symbols are also intriguing.
Wrought with admirable skill—the emptiness and menace underlying this Utopia emerge step by inexorable step: a richly provocative novel. (Fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: April 1, 1993
ISBN: 978-0-395-64566-6
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1993
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