Magical mysteries, action and adventure, and ruminations on grief, all in one enchanting package.
A young woman finds herself transported to a magical world of talking animals in King’s YA novel.
Lorette “Lore” Deodarán is an awkward 18-year-old whose life is in upheaval: A new home in the town of Hazel Borough, a new school just a month from graduation, and court-ordered therapy only add to the familiar, crushing anxiety of her fraught family life. A job at a neighborhood bakery and time spent with her grandmother Mamó promise some measure of reprieve—until a big-eared, golden-eyed creature searching for a particular charm bracelet inadvertently causes Mamó’s death. When Lore attempts to catch the beast, she tumbles down the blue brick well behind her grandmother’s cabin. She lands in the town of Charmsend, in another world called Thimbleton, where humans have long been extinct. It’s a magical place, full of talking animals who wield mystical powers. Lore receives aid from an adventurous mouse named Mathilde who is working to solve the murder of her adoptive father, Gannon, a gentle giant of an alligator. The author’s prose is whip-smart and laced with poetry, regularly returning to themes of precious gems and flowers. Chapters are short and fast-paced, and the characters exchange fun, snappy dialogue (“ ‘Human, I am this size because I am a mouse, not because I am a child.’ Lore sucked on the inside of her cheek and quietly sat back down. ‘You could have just led with that, you know,’ she grumbled”) that makes the exposition go down easily. The novel excels at establishing settings; Charmsend is as bewitching as its name implies, a fully formed society with unique customs for everything, from preserving their history to burying their dead. While there’s plenty of action (including an exciting fight with a giant librarian snake), the way the story captures grief, both in how Lore recalls her grandmother after her death and how Mathilde honors her father, is equally impactful.
Magical mysteries, action and adventure, and ruminations on grief, all in one enchanting package.Pub Date: Dec. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781958607718
Page Count: 260
Publisher: Inimitable Books
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations.
Magic, mystery, and love intertwine and invite in this newest take on the “enchanted circus” trope.
Sisters raised by their abusive father, a governor of a colonial backwater in a world vaguely reminiscent of the late 18th century, Scarlett and Donatella each long for something more. Scarlett, olive-skinned, dark of hair and attitude, longs for Caraval, the fabled, magical circus helmed by the possibly evil Master Legend Santos, while blonde, sunny Tella finds comfort in drink and the embraces of various men. A slightly awkward start, with inconsistencies of attitude and setting, rapidly smooths out when they, along with handsome “golden-brown” sailor Julian, flee to Caraval on the eve of Scarlett’s arranged marriage. Tella disappears, and Scarlett must navigate a nighttime world of magic to find her. Caraval delights the senses: beautiful and scary, described in luscious prose, this is a show readers will wish they could enter. Dresses can be purchased for secrets or days of life; clocks can become doors; bridges move: this is an inventive and original circus, laced with an edge of horror. A double love story, one sensual romance and the other sisterly loyalty, anchors the plot, but the real star here is Caraval and its secrets.
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-09525-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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