Utterly bewitching.
Plagued by a family curse to only know doomed love, 18-year-old Cuban American twin sisters descend into a struggle involving magic, traditions, and murder.
Despite Mami’s efforts to eradicate magic from their lives, Lela and Delfi seek to develop their bruja gifts after they are haunted by strange visions of a woman’s death. Aided by Ethan (their best friend and Lela’s crush) and Andres (Delfi’s jilted ex and an aspiring sleuth), the girls uncover a sinister plot involving some powerful brujos who may have a connection to Mami’s family history. What did she run away from back in Cuba? In a separate storyline set in 1980, nearly 40 years before the twins’ adventure, 18-year-old Anita grapples with her predestined path among la Orden de las Palomas. Led by Mamá Orti, Anita’s mother, las Palomas is a malicious group of formidable magic practitioners who pledge their collective might to serve Castro and secure their place among the Cuban elite. Ordained to ascend as Mamá Orti’s successor, Anita gradually repudiates las Palomas and el Comandante’s sphere of brutality in pursuit of seemingly unattainable freedom alongside her brother and friends. Featuring nuanced depictions of Afro-Cuban religious practices, Montalban’s assured debut goes in heavy with an exploration of multigenerational trauma and its accompanying psychic pain. Richly rendered main characters and a knotty central mystery captivate. Even though secondary characters at times fall flat and some obvious plot twists distract, this is overall a strong page-turner.
Utterly bewitching. (author’s note) (Paranormal. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2023
ISBN: 9781638930129
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Zando Young Readers
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
Perhaps a more genuinely enlightened protagonist would have made this debut more engaging
Audrey Rose Wadsworth, 17, would rather perform autopsies in her uncle’s dark laboratory than find a suitable husband, as is the socially acceptable rite of passage for a young, white British lady in the late 1800s.
The story immediately brings Audrey into a fractious pairing with her uncle’s young assistant, Thomas Cresswell. The two engage in predictable rounds of “I’m smarter than you are” banter, while Audrey’s older brother, Nathaniel, taunts her for being a girl out of her place. Horrific murders of prostitutes whose identities point to associations with the Wadsworth estate prompt Audrey to start her own investigation, with Thomas as her sidekick. Audrey’s narration is both ponderous and polemical, as she sees her pursuit of her goals and this investigation as part of a crusade for women. She declares that the slain aren’t merely prostitutes but “daughters and wives and mothers,” but she’s also made it a point to deny any alignment with the profiled victims: “I am not going as a prostitute. I am simply blending in.” Audrey also expresses a narrow view of her desired gender role, asserting that “I was determined to be both pretty and fierce,” as if to say that physical beauty and liking “girly” things are integral to feminism. The graphic descriptions of mutilated women don’t do much to speed the pace.
Perhaps a more genuinely enlightened protagonist would have made this debut more engaging . (Historical thriller. 15-18)Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-316-27349-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Jimmy Patterson/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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