A lyrical, fast-paced romance that could have benefited from a simplified plot.
Teenage clock mechanic Danny Hart learns a deadly secret, forcing him to choose between saving the man he loves and saving the world.
In early 1877, Danny is trapped on an airship controlled by rebels. Led by Zavier, a cruel and reticent man grappling with a tragic past, the rebels are determined to free time from the control of humans. At first, Danny resists: If time is restored, Danny’s forbidden paramour, clock spirit Colton Bell, will disappear. But the more Danny learns about the history of the towers and their nefarious creation, the less certain he is of his position—until a rival group, the Builders, makes him choose between a future for himself and a future for the people he loves. The prose is beautifully crafted, and the cast is refreshingly diverse: White protagonists Danny and Colton are queer, Daphne is biracial (white British and Indian), there is ethnic diversity in the supporting cast, and at least one secondary character is transgender. Unfortunately, the story is overplotted, leaving little space to explain previous events or the world’s rules, or to explore the complex and layered characters, and making it a difficult entry point for readers new to the series. Furthermore, since the majority of the story occurs in Zavier’s airship, hovering above unknown countries, the book lacks the rich settings of previous volumes.
A lyrical, fast-paced romance that could have benefited from a simplified plot. (Steampunk. 14-18)Pub Date: Jan. 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5107-0620-0
Page Count: 488
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2018
Heart-rending and heartwarming.
Traumatic amnesia and the smothering confines of a conservative town can’t stunt the blooming of young love.
Stevie Green and Nora Martin have been dating secretly for nearly two years when disaster strikes: a terrible accident, a head injury, and suddenly, 18-year-old Stevie has no memory of the past couple of years. She returns from the hospital to a life where nothing feels quite familiar. Her mother, whom she always considered a best friend, is distant due to the reverberations of events that Stevie can’t remember. Her father has grown remote, engrossed by the pundits on Fox News and regurgitating intolerant beliefs. Even Savannah and Rory, her closest friends from Catholic school, feel like strangers, endorsing anti-Asian comments even though Stevie is biracial (Korean and implied White). And then there’s Nora, a girl she can’t recall meeting in her former life but whom she feels utterly connected to all the same. As Stevie fights to regain her memories and reconcile the sensations of wrongness that pervade her relationships, Nora fights for Stevie, determined that their love will regrow despite the hurdles presented by their town and her own hostile, physically abusive mother. Derrick tells Stevie’s story with finesse, the beats well paced and building powerfully. Small-town Pennsylvania is vividly portrayed, the complex emotions Stevie feels for her hometown becoming viscerally relatable.
Heart-rending and heartwarming. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 9781665902373
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
A young woman’s captivating, sometimes heartbreaking, yet ultimately hopeful story about coming into her own.
A Black girl’s journey from a stifled life to self-discovery through dance.
Seventeen-year-old Ada grew up in Chicago with a Nigerian immigrant father who raised her in line with his strict, traditional Christian values. Her mother struggled with addiction and was mostly absent, both physically and emotionally. Ada was indoctrinated to be submissive to her elders and learned to suppress vital parts of herself, from her opinions to her love of dance. Brought up to keep so much of her life a secret, Ada has even kept quiet about a tragic sexual assault at the hands of her older male cousin. She is finally given the physical freedom she had been denied her whole life when she graduates high school and heads to college in Washington, D.C. There, she starts to unpack what she has been taught by her dysfunctional family and begins to bloom and unlock those guarded parts of herself. In the end, Ada reclaims her body and her life through dance, exploring her own beliefs and values and finding her voice. Iloh uses verse beautifully to show readers the world through Ada’s eyes, incorporating flashbacks and time jumps to piece the whole picture together. With complex relationship dynamics and heavy-hitting issues like rape, overbearing and neglectful parents, and addiction, this book will leave readers deeply affected.
A young woman’s captivating, sometimes heartbreaking, yet ultimately hopeful story about coming into her own. (Verse novel. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-525-55620-6
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: July 7, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
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