Ambitious and offbeat but suffering from repetitiveness.
A fictional collection of fantastical imaginings of Marie Curie’s teen years.
After an opening grounds readers in the basics of the life of Marya Salomea Skłodowska, better known as Marie Curie, as well as the important people and places of her youth, 16 authors imagine her youth, with mixed-genre twists. The more grounded stories imagine Marya using her scientific know-how to solve mysteries and save lives; these intermingle with tales of her hunting monsters and raising the dead. The result is jarringly different depictions of the same person; readers are best served by treating each tale as its own alternate universe. The most successful manage to straddle the divide by leaning into folklore, such as “The Cold White Ones” by Susanne L. Lambdin, a standout unfortunately marred by the repeated use of a slur for Romani people. The contributions overall tend toward dark themes, dwelling on Marya’s depression after deaths in her family (a formative experience that loses its power through the repeated focus it receives) and the oppression she faced as a woman and from Russia’s occupation of Poland. Occasional free-verse poems from Jane Yolen seem more concerned with Curie’s adult self and need more context than the short stories. Many of the entries are followed by a “Science Note” explaining the science used (frequently chemical reactions) and giving historical and cultural context.
Ambitious and offbeat but suffering from repetitiveness. (further reading, editor bios, author bios) (Historical speculative fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: April 11, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-66504-703-6
Page Count: 350
Publisher: Blackstone
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
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
Truly fantastic.
This dark fantasy duology opener has a magic school, a death, and five students who find themselves stranded in the wilderness.
Ren Monroe is a promising student wizard at Balmerick, a private school in the city of Kathor. Along with her best friend, Timmons, Ren is one of the few welfare students attending on a scholarship, and despite being one of the most accomplished people at the school, finding a placement in one of the top houses is proving difficult and is a hurdle in the way of the secret mission Ren has set out to accomplish. When a portal spell goes awry and Ren, Timmons, and four other students from different walks of life are thrown together into the Dires, an uncharted land where the last dragons lived, one of them ends up dead and the rest need to learn to work together to make their way back home before they succumb to the harsh environment or the terrifying revenant following them. This may well be the chance Ren was looking for to prove her worth. Placing elements of a locked-room mystery and an original magic system within the familiar trappings of a school for magic, this is a no-holds-barred tale of revenge, atonement, and the pursuit of justice set in a world diverse in skin color and social classes. Ren is a protagonist for the ages: equal parts smart, calculating, and ruthless, forming a lethal package as an avenging angel.
Truly fantastic. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: March 28, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-66591-868-8
Page Count: 368
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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