An alluring and lyrical journey.
“We were a fractured pair / when we were meant to be / a trio”: Two teens descend into the underworld to rescue their lost love.
Andres Santos, from São Paulo, Brazil, once “wore two faces…the jaguar and the prince.” Furious and cruel, he took whatever he wanted—until the Tietê River nearly took his life. Face to face with Death, terrified that he had wasted his life, Andres made a desperate bargain: something he hates (his anger) in exchange for something he loves (a debt that Death will one day come to collect). Armed with a new guitar, Andres starts fresh in Miami, where he’s swept away from the tempestuous relationship of his Cuban mami and Brazilian papi by Liora Rose (who’s cued white and Jewish) and “ruby-haired” Renee Delgado (who’s Cuban American). Neither Liora nor Renee knows of the shadow that Andres left in the underworld, but they have secrets of their own. Their fairy-tale bliss comes to an abrupt end with a car crash. Andres and Renee have one chance to save Liora, but to do so, they must brave the abyss. Joined by a boy named Virgil, the characters in this reimagining of the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice confront their regrets, insecurities, feelings for one another, and dreams for the future. Spun with allusions to mythology and literature, Romero’s novel in verse ensnares hearts and imaginations through vivid and memorable poetic craft that captures the ache and complexity of love.
An alluring and lyrical journey. (Verse fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9781682636916
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Peachtree Teen
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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