Save this action-packed but derivative adventure for die-hard shonen manga buffs.
The Underworld makes another bid for control of Mio’s mystical sword.
In this sequel to The Name of the Blade (2014), Mio and her friends are still celebrating their defeat of the Nekomata with their allies in the Kitsune Kingdom when they are attacked again. This time their enemy’s tools are the Shikome, the “Foul Women,” whose feathers carry a deadly contagion. The gang is ill-prepared to handle the Shikome since they are still coping with the fallout from their first adventure. Mio’s connection with her dangerous katana is growing ever more seductive and powerful, while Rachel is discovering that her abduction by the Nekomata has left her terribly changed. Select third-person passages from other characters’ perspectives are interspersed throughout Mio’s first-person narration, and they emphasize how completely the Shikome plague overwhelms London. The too-tidy ending consequently feels like a cop-out, despite the setup provided for the inevitable third book in the series. Nonetheless, the intense fight scenes and doomed romance will still appeal to many readers, especially if they’re inclined to appreciate Marriott’s obvious manga influences and willing to overlook generally shallow characterization. At least one major plot twist will immediately remind savvy fans of a similar storyline in Tite Kubo’s Bleach.
Save this action-packed but derivative adventure for die-hard shonen manga buffs. (Urban fantasy. 13-16)Pub Date: Nov. 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6958-4
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Aug. 25, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Despite the well-meaning warmth, a wearying plod.
Can a 17-year-old with her first girlfriend prevent real-life folks from discovering her online fandoms?
Cass is proudly queer, happily fat, and extremely secretive about being a fan who role-plays on Discord. Back in middle school, she had what she calls a gaming addiction, playing “The Sims” so much her parents had to take the game away. Now, turning to her role-play friends to cope with her fighting parents, she worries that people will judge her for her fannishness and online life. To be fair, her grades are suffering. And sure, maybe she’s missed a college application deadline. Also, her mom has suddenly left Minneapolis and moved to Maine to be with a man she met online. But on the other hand, Cass is finally dating her amazingly cute longtime crush, Taylor. Pansexual Taylor is a gamer, a little bit punk, White like Cass, and so, so great—but she still can’t help comparing her to Rowan, Cass’ online best friend and role-playing ship partner. But Rowan doesn’t want to be a dirty little secret and doesn’t see why Cass can’t be honest about this part of her life. The inevitable train wreck of her lies looms on the horizon for months in an overlong morality play building to the climax that includes tidy resolutions to all the character arcs that are quite heartwarming but, in the case of Cass’ estranged mother, narratively unearned.
Despite the well-meaning warmth, a wearying plod. (Fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-06-324332-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
An enjoyable, if predictable, romantic holiday story.
Is an exuberant extended family the cure for a breakup? Sophie is about to find out.
When Sophie unexpectedly breaks up with her boyfriend, she isn’t thrilled about spending the holidays at her grandparents’ house instead of with him. And when her grandmother forms a plan to distract Sophie from her broken heart—10 blind dates, each set up by different family members—she’s even less thrilled. Everyone gets involved with the matchmaking, even forming a betting pool on the success of each date. But will Sophie really find someone to fill the space left by her ex? Will her ex get wind of Sophie’s dating spree via social media and want them to get back together? Is that what she even wants anymore? This is a fun story of finding love, getting to know yourself, and getting to know your family. The pace is quick and light, though the characters are fairly shallow and occasionally feel interchangeable, especially with so many names involved. A Christmas tale, the plot is a fast-paced series of dinners, parties, and games, relayed in both narrative form and via texts, though the humor occasionally feels stiff and overwrought. The ending is satisfying, though largely unsurprising. Most characters default to white as members of Sophie’s Italian American extended family, although one of her cousins has a Filipina mother. One uncle is gay.
An enjoyable, if predictable, romantic holiday story. (Fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-368-02749-6
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
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