An often entertaining, mostly upbeat magical adventure.
A YA fantasy novel about an enchanted school competition.
Debut author Riggins tells the tale of Kase Garrick, a young warrior-in-training at The Academy, a college of sorts that also produces wizards and scholars. He gets into trouble on his first day at the school when he runs afoul of a whiny boy named Niveous, who’s his older sister Cali’s boyfriend and also a professor’s son. Following an incident with Niveous, Kase reports for detention, during which he befriends Lenia and Talen. Lenia is studying to be a wizard and Talen a scholar. Although warriors, wizards, and scholars don’t usually mix, the three nevertheless form a bond. They eventually team up (along with Cali, after she breaks up with Niveous) for The Academy’s annual Quest Series competition. During the “Q,” as it’s called, Kase and his group, who call themselves the Liberati, are given seemingly impossible tasks, such as fetching molten rock from a volcano. Of course, the application of magic makes tackling them a bit easier, but they’ll also need problem-solving skills, among other, non-magical strengths. Aside from some sadness surrounding Cali’s breakup with Niveous—although it’s hard to tell what she saw in him, anyway—and some controversy involving a dragon, the book maintains a rather cheerful tone throughout. There is some dull dialogue, as in Kase’s long-range weapons class (“Help each other out, but safety is of utmost importance,” the instructor explains rather blandly). However, most of the narrative’s events move along quickly. The fun for readers comes less from trying to figure out how the tasks of the Q will be completed than from watching the chirpy young cast accomplish them in an expansive fantasy setting. In it, the team encounters creatures as varied as gargoyles, unicorns, and mermaids—and readers never quite know what will come next.
An often entertaining, mostly upbeat magical adventure.Pub Date: May 13, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-9959002-0-2
Page Count: 278
Publisher: Franchise Publishing
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Heartfelt, yes, but pretty routine.
Life lessons.
Angie Malone, the youngest of a big, warm Italian-American family, returns to her Pacific Northwest hometown to wrestle with various midlife disappointments: her divorce, Papa’s death, a downturn in business at the family restaurant, and, above all, her childlessness. After several miscarriages, she, a successful ad exec, and husband Conlan, a reporter, befriended a pregnant young girl and planned to adopt her baby—and then the birth mother changed her mind. Angie and Conlan drifted apart and soon found they just didn’t love each other anymore. Metaphorically speaking, “her need for a child had been a high tide, an overwhelming force that drowned them. A year ago, she could have kicked to the surface but not now.” Sadder but wiser, Angie goes to work in the struggling family restaurant, bickering with Mama over updating the menu and replacing the ancient waitress. Soon, Angie befriends another young girl, Lauren Ribido, who’s eager to learn and desperately needs a job. Lauren’s family lives on the wrong side of the tracks, and her mother is a promiscuous alcoholic, but Angie knows nothing of this sad story and welcomes Lauren into the DeSaria family circle. The girl listens in, wide-eyed, as the sisters argue and make wisecracks and—gee-whiz—are actually nice to each other. Nothing at all like her relationship with her sluttish mother, who throws Lauren out when boyfriend David, en route to Stanford, gets her pregnant. Will Lauren, who’s just been accepted to USC, let Angie adopt her baby? Well, a bit of a twist at the end keeps things from becoming too predictable.
Heartfelt, yes, but pretty routine.Pub Date: July 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-345-46750-7
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2004
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
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