A rambling religious sermon mixed with fantastical thriller elements.
A Colorado teenager changes the past to save his mother’s life, opening himself up to possibilities—and dangers.
“Nothing is as it seems” is a repeated refrain in this Christian political thriller that pits Satan’s and God’s plans against each other. When Jimmy’s mother was murdered, her unforgettable last words to 11-year-old Jimmy were: “This is not the end.” Now, 17-year-old Jimmy is asked out on a date by classmate Sasha, whose senator father is a presidential hopeful. The pair visit a carnival, where they consult a fortune teller who’s more than what he at first seems to be—and perhaps offers the key to understanding Jimmy’s mother’s dying words. Jimmy and Sasha’s relationship progresses rapidly, and the pair spark a chain of events that places their lives in danger and puts them in a position to find out the truth behind the lies of religious and government leaders that have kept people from following Jesus Christ. Will Jimmy and Sasha, who present white, believe Satan’s lies or will they trust Jesus’ assurances that they can “trample on serpents and scorpions” and reveal the truth? Written in the third person, the book, which would have benefited from being trimmed down, contains repetitive sermons and political screeds interspersed with a fantasy storyline that’s weakened by stilted dialogue and an overabundance of outdated pop-culture references.
A rambling religious sermon mixed with fantastical thriller elements. (Religious fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: April 14, 2026
ISBN: 9781915406927
Page Count: 374
Publisher: Black Spring Press
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
A thoughtful and thrilling story of life, death, and meaning.
Two teens train to be society-sanctioned killers in an otherwise immortal world.
On post-mortal Earth, humans live long (if not particularly passionate) lives without fear of disease, aging, or accidents. Operating independently of the governing AI (called the Thunderhead since it evolved from the cloud), scythes rely on 10 commandments, quotas, and their own moral codes to glean the population. After challenging Hon. Scythe Faraday, 16-year-olds Rowan Damisch and Citra Terranova reluctantly become his apprentices. Subjected to killcraft training, exposed to numerous executions, and discouraged from becoming allies or lovers, the two find themselves engaged in a fatal competition but equally determined to fight corruption and cruelty. The vivid and often violent action unfolds slowly, anchored in complex worldbuilding and propelled by political machinations and existential musings. Scythes’ journal entries accompany Rowan’s and Citra’s dual and dueling narratives, revealing both personal struggles and societal problems. The futuristic post–2042 MidMerican world is both dystopia and utopia, free of fear, unexpected death, and blatant racism—multiracial main characters discuss their diverse ethnic percentages rather than purity—but also lacking creativity, emotion, and purpose. Elegant and elegiac, brooding but imbued with gallows humor, Shusterman’s dark tale thrusts realistic, likable teens into a surreal situation and raises deep philosophic questions.
A thoughtful and thrilling story of life, death, and meaning. (Science fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4424-7242-6
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 25, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016
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