An uneven but appealing introduction to a fantasy world.
A mermaid and a firebird explore Earth together in this duology opener.
Mermaid Atana was living alone on an island and in its surrounding waters (on land, Atana has legs), until the night firebird Ren appeared from the sky. Ren’s fearless curiosity inspires Atana to join her adventure, despite the mermaid’s fears of magic hunters, and the two set off together. It’s been centuries since firebirds last appeared on Earth, and Ren’s arrival hasn’t gone unnoticed. The two are immediately waylaid by magic hunters, taken in by a stranger, and invited into the protection of the mysterious Witch Queen. But does the Witch Queen’s hospitality come with a hidden cost? Along the way, Ren and Atana pursue their own family secrets, and they befriend Witch Guard trainee Cosmos, who’s on a mission of her own. This intriguing, complex story is simply and elegantly drawn, with many wordless panels. Readers may need to reread portions of the book to identify characters or work to pick up on other visual clues. Just as the rapport between Atana, Ren, and Cosmos starts to gel, the plot hurtles to a climax, and the story comes to an end. Still, lovers of the genre will find plenty to enjoy. Ren’s human form has brown skin and long, white-blond hair; Atana has light-brown skin and close-cropped green hair, and the supporting cast is varied in appearance.
An uneven but appealing introduction to a fantasy world. (development art) (Graphic fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9780063075924
Page Count: 256
Publisher: HarperAlley
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and...
Catrina narrates the story of her mixed-race (Latino/white) family’s move from Southern California to Bahía de la Luna on the Northern California coast.
Dad has a new job, but it’s little sister Maya’s lungs that motivate the move: she has had cystic fibrosis since birth—a degenerative breathing condition. Despite her health, Maya loves adventure, even if her lungs suffer for it and even when Cat must follow to keep her safe. When Carlos, a tall, brown, and handsome teen Ghost Tour guide introduces the sisters to the Bahía ghosts—most of whom were Spanish-speaking Mexicans when alive—they fascinate Maya and she them, but the terrified Cat wants only to get herself and Maya back to safety. When the ghost adventure leads to Maya’s hospitalization, Cat blames both herself and Carlos, which makes seeing him at school difficult. As Cat awakens to the meaning of Halloween and Day of the Dead in this strange new home, she comes to understand the importance of the ghosts both to herself and to Maya. Telgemeier neatly balances enough issues that a lesser artist would split them into separate stories and delivers as much delight textually as visually. The backmatter includes snippets from Telgemeier’s sketchbook and a photo of her in Día makeup.
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and unable to put down this compelling tale. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-54061-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
However the compelling fitness of theme and event and the apt but unexpected imagery (the opening sentences compare the...
At a time when death has become an acceptable, even voguish subject in children's fiction, Natalie Babbitt comes through with a stylistic gem about living forever.
Protected Winnie, the ten-year-old heroine, is not immortal, but when she comes upon young Jesse Tuck drinking from a secret spring in her parents' woods, she finds herself involved with a family who, having innocently drunk the same water some 87 years earlier, haven't aged a moment since. Though the mood is delicate, there is no lack of action, with the Tucks (previously suspected of witchcraft) now pursued for kidnapping Winnie; Mae Tuck, the middle aged mother, striking and killing a stranger who is onto their secret and would sell the water; and Winnie taking Mae's place in prison so that the Tucks can get away before she is hanged from the neck until....? Though Babbitt makes the family a sad one, most of their reasons for discontent are circumstantial and there isn't a great deal of wisdom to be gleaned from their fate or Winnie's decision not to share it.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1975
ISBN: 0312369816
Page Count: 164
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1975
BOOK REVIEW
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