An engaging fantasy series starter with compelling worldbuilding hampered by some distracting narration.
In Rose’s YA supernatural novel, siblings attend a mysterious school in a bid to find their missing parents.
When Genesis Deadlock was 7 years old, her parents were abducted in the middle of the night. She and her younger brother, River, would have also been taken, but one of the kidnappers hid their presence from his superior. After their parents’ disappearance, the siblings were raised by their grandparents until their grandmother died, when their Uncle Ferris took over their care. Determined to find out what happened to her parents, Genesis, now 14, follows one of her only clues, the word “Arisha,” which she heard one of the abductors say the night of the incident. This leads her to the prestigious and mysterious Arisha school. Upon gaining admittance to the school, Genesis and River undergo a process all new attendees experience called “awakening,” which unlocks supernatural powers (called valtas) hidden in their cells. After the awakening, Genesis gains the ability to shape-shift after she ingests the DNA of another living creature; River has the valta of energy, which allows him to control gravity. These are two of 14 valtas, which also include powers involving water, fire, vegetation, earth, wind, ice, shadow, light, electricity, iron, and psychic abilities. (The first half of the book is filled with exposition detailing such mystical matters.) The author uses an unusual narrative approach that is often distracting—she frames the story as a true one that she heard from her family and uses this conceit to interject first- and second-person narration into the story at various points. (Often, this comes with a repetitive phrase like “dear reader” or “I tell you.”) The adolescent characters do not speak like most teenagers; one character coins the nickname “Shapeshifty” for Genesis, and another refers to their group as “super cool.” Despite these minor flaws, Rose has created a unique world with intriguing mysteries and conspiracies that is lightly infused with Christian values; it’s perfect for YA readers looking for fantasy stories without swearing or suggestive content.
An engaging fantasy series starter with compelling worldbuilding hampered by some distracting narration.Pub Date: May 20, 2024
ISBN: 9798990610705
Page Count: 374
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: June 25, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
A dark and gripping feminist tale.
A young woman faces her past to discover the truth about one of her nation’s heroes.
When Effy Sayre, the only female architecture student at her university in Llyr, wins the competition to design Hiraeth Manor for the estate of the late Emrys Myrddin, national literary figure and her favorite author, it is the perfect opportunity to leave behind a recent trauma. She arrives to find the cliffside estate is literally crumbling into the ocean, and she quickly realizes things may not be as they seem. Preston, an arrogant literature student, is also working at the estate, gathering materials for the university’s archives and questioning everything Effy knows about Myrddin. When Preston offers to include her name on his thesis—which may allow her to pursue the dream of studying literature that was frustrated by the university’s refusal to admit women literature students—Effy agrees to help him. He’s on a quest for answers about the source of Myrddin’s most famous work, Angharad, a romance about a cruel Fairy King who marries a mortal woman. Meanwhile, Myrddin’s son has secrets of his own. Preston and Effy start to suspect that Myrddin’s fairy tales may hold more truth than they realize. The Welsh-inspired setting is impressively atmospheric, and while some of the mythology ends up feeling extraneous, the worldbuilding is immersive and thoughtfully addresses misogyny and its effects on how history is written. Main characters are cued white.
A dark and gripping feminist tale. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2023
ISBN: 9780063211506
Page Count: 384
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
