Beautiful writing, intricate plotting, and breathless reveals—plus several plucky female leads—make this a must-read.
Minutes from joining the priesthood in 1934, Vango, who was found washed ashore on a tiny Italian island as a toddler, must suddenly avoid both arrest and a simultaneous assassination attempt.
Establishing his innocence while on the run across Europe requires untangling his mysterious past. The story’s got all the classic elements of swashbuckling adventure tales like The Count of Monte Cristo—except pistols replace swords, and the villains include men who would become leaders of the Axis powers. Flashbacks to Vango’s childhood demonstrate that his heroism is innate—such as when, at 10, he drops from a cliff into a sinking boat to save a neighbor. But fate doesn’t always reward valor, and de Fombelle notes that by saving his neighbor, the youngster “was embarking on a stormy life ahead.” But Vango’s gentleness and caring earn him loyalty (and potentially romance) from those who help him along his journey. These characters, like Vango, are inherently brave but also shaped by tragedy. Their courage is tested by war and their frustrating inability to counteract the growing power of the Nazi regime. Tension escalates when readers begin to suspect that Vango’s story is more closely interwoven with the conflicts of World War II than either he or his supporters realize.
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7196-9
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2014
A seaworthy stand-alone.
In a flooded post-apocalyptic world, a girl in search of answers about their parents’ deaths revives her dead sister.
Three years after her parents died at sea in a storm, Tempest lost her older sister, Elysea, to drowning—and four months after that, Elysea’s best friend revealed that Elysea saw her parents the night they died and that she blamed herself for their deaths. To discover the truth, Tempest has saved and scrounged up enough money to use nearby high-tech island Palindromena’s resurrection technology, which can bring the dead back for just one more day, on Elysea. Elysea’s truth is more complicated than Tempest anticipated, and it leads to an escape from Palindromena and a desperate chase after dangerous, evasive truths. Co-narrator Lor is at odds with the escapees—he secretly filled in for a friend on Elysea’s resurrection, and if the sisters aren’t returned, the friend faces severe consequences. The countdown of Elysea’s remaining time at the start of each chapter keeps tensions high as the characters explore a detailed, inventive, lovingly crafted world (though the technology requires large amounts of suspension of disbelief for the story to hold water). But despite the occasional plot element that falls flat, the narrative’s sea legs come through deep, resonant characterizations and the characters’ intense emotional inner lives. Lor is pale, the sisters are olive-skinned, and various shades of brown are common. An aromantic character receives positive representation.
A seaworthy stand-alone. (Science fantasy. 12-adult)Pub Date: March 3, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-525-51395-7
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Quite possibly the best teen novel featuring a girl questioning her sexuality written in years.
Big-town girl stuck in a small-town world full of lies falls for another girl.
Astrid's parents moved both her and her sister away from their New York City home years ago to a small town symbolically called Unity Valley. Since then her mom has drunk the society Kool-Aid, and her dad takes mental vacations in the garage to smoke weed. Astrid doesn't feel like she fits in anywhere. Two friends keep her sane: her closeted BFF, Kristina, and Dee, a star hockey player she met while working for a local catering company. Sparks fly between Astrid and Dee, causing Astrid to feel even more distanced and confused. Meanwhile, Kristina and her boyfriend/beard Justin use Astrid as cover for their own same-sex sweethearts, adding more fuel to the fire. King has created an intense, fast-paced, complex and compelling novel about sexuality, politics and societal norms that will force readers outside their comfort zones. The whole town—even the alleged gay characters—buy into the Stepford-like ideal, and King elegantly uses Plato’s "Allegory of the Cave" to help readers understand life inside and outside of the box. Only Astrid knows what she wants. She’s in love with Dee, but she's not sure if she’s a lesbian. She’s ignoring all of the labels and focusing on what she feels.
Quite possibly the best teen novel featuring a girl questioning her sexuality written in years. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Oct. 23, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-316-19468-6
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 14, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2012
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