Underwhelming bruja adventure is fine for fans of diverse or urban paranormal stories.
A Brooklyn bruja who doesn't want her powers must journey to another dimension to save her family.
Alejandra Mortiz wishes she were a typical Brooklyn high schooler, but the Ecuadorian–Puerto Rican teen comes from a long line of Latina brujas (witches). Her mother and older sister, Lula, are healers, while her younger sister, Rose, is a dream-walking psychic. Alex, meanwhile, is revealed to be an encantrix—the most powerful kind of bruja, with the potential to master all forms of magic. Believing her magic to be a dangerous burden, she dreads her upcoming Deathday ceremony (a bruja or brujo's coming-of-age rite) until Nova, a mysterious (and gorgeous) brujo, informs her she could probably find the right enchantment to block her ceremonial blessing or even spell away her powers. When an evil supernatural force kidnaps her entire family during her Deathday, Alex must summon her powers—and Nova's knowledge of Los Lagos (the magical underworld)—to find her family and defeat her enemies. The author's blending of Latin American traditions, matriarchy, and religions makes the premise interesting, but the story is ultimately a predictable chosen-one quest. Props to Córdova for Alex's diverse family heritage, but readers will likely spend more time trying to keep track of the Los Lagos geography, various supernatural rules, living (and dead) characters, and off-putting animal sacrifices to feel invested in the multicultural bisexual love triangle.
Underwhelming bruja adventure is fine for fans of diverse or urban paranormal stories. (author's note, map) (Fantasy. 13-17)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4926-2094-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Full of drama, emotional turmoil, and high stakes.
What happens to the world after the dust from a revolution has settled?
Friends Annie and Lee were children from very different circles when Atreus killed Lee’s father, dragonlord Leon Stormscourge, ending the uprising on the bloodiest day in Callipolis’ history. For too long the dragonriders held all the power while their people starved and lived in fear. Nine years later, a new generation of dragonriders is emerging, children selected and trained on merit, not bloodlines. Their dragons are finally mature enough for them to compete for Firstrider, a position of power that can give Lee back a small part of what his family lost. However, not only is Lee competing against Annie, but rumors are circulating that some of the royal family have survived and have dragons of their own. Everyone will have to make a choice: Restore the old regime, support the First Protector and the new caste system he created, or look for a new way, no matter what the cost. From the beginning, this book pulls readers in with political intrigue and action. What keeps them invested, however, are the complex relationships between many cast members. Choices are complex, and the consequences for all could be deadly. The world is well fleshed out and believable. Annie and Lee are light skinned; secondary characters are diverse, and race is a nonissue in this world.
Full of drama, emotional turmoil, and high stakes. (author’s note) (Fantasy.14-17)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-525-51821-1
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: July 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
Bound to be popular.
A suddenly trendy trope—conflict and romance between members of conquering and enslaved races—enlivened by fantasy elements loosely drawn from Arabic tradition (another trend!).
In an original, well-constructed fantasy world (barring some lazy naming), the Scholars have lived under Martial rule for 500 years, downtrodden and in many cases enslaved. Scholar Laia has spent a lifetime hiding her connection to the Resistance—her parents were its leaders—but when her grandparents are killed and her brother’s captured by Masks, the eerie, silver-faced elite soldiers of the Martial Empire, Laia must go undercover as a slave to the terrifying Commandant of Blackcliff Military Academy, where Martials are trained for battle. Meanwhile, Elias, the Commandant’s not-at-all-beloved son, wants to run away from Blackcliff, until he is named an Aspirant for the throne by the mysterious red-eyed Augurs. Predictably, action, intrigue, bloodshed and some pounding pulses follow; there’s betrayal and a potential love triangle or two as well. Sometimes-lackluster prose and a slight overreliance on certain kinds of sexual violence as a threat only slightly diminish the appeal created by familiar (but not predictable) characters and a truly engaging if not fully fleshed-out fantasy world.
Bound to be popular. (Fantasy. 13 & up)Pub Date: April 28, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-59514-803-2
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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