For established fans of the first.
The second installment to Childs’ mermaid-princess adventure (after Forgive My Fins, 2010) takes up just weeks after the Seaview high schooler has resolved to renounce her title to the underwater Thalassinia throne and become a "terraped" college-bound senior.
Princess Waterlily, daughter of King Whelk, would rather settle down as the plebian Lily Sanderson with her boyfriend, Quince—the pesky neighbor of the former tale, now love-object—than assume her royal Thalassinian duties. Or would she? Lily makes a perfunctory stab at studying for her SATs and applying to a marine-biology program at a community college, when she is distracted by the sudden visit of her despised younger cousin, Dosinia. Sent by the king to live with Lily and her Aunt Rachel in order to learn how to appreciate humans, the flirtatious Doe charms Lily’s old crush Brody instantly—even bonding with him by kiss!—and generally making Lily’s life miserable in the two weeks leading up to her 18th birthday, when she plans to renounce the throne. Childs works in plenty of sea-worthy puns, though the plotting feels a little fishy and repetitive in this insistently lovey-dovey tale. Moreover, Lily’s cavalier ambivalence about assuming her patriotic duties and her air-brained negligence of her academic pursuits seem sadly retrograde.
For established fans of the first. (Fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: June 28, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-191468-3
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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