A delightful novel about magic and belonging.
Two teens apprenticed to rival sorcerers start to fall for each other as the world around them implodes.
Nonmagical almost-17-year-old Edison “Rook” Rooker just wants back into the world of magic that he lost when his grandmother passed away. And while being magicless himself is a major obstacle, his optimistic scheme to develop an illegal yet scientific way to access magic while being apprenticed to powerful sorceress Antonia Hex is pretty much going according to plan. Until, that is, the Magical Consortium gets wind of his detection device. Given how Antonia—due to previous run-ins with the Consortium—is not technically allowed to have new apprentices, she is arrested alongside rival colleague/accomplice Fable. Rook is now on the run, hiding from those who want to prevent him from accessing magic and determined to rescue Antonia and Fable with help from Sun, Fable’s introverted, annoyingly cute, and extremely magical apprentice. While the strong worldbuilding and the overall arc about magic, oppression, and overcoming obstacles are well done, the true highlight of the novel lies in its cozy sense of humor, relationships, and theme of belonging, explored both in terms of working families created by apprentices and masters and the endearing grumpy-sunshine romance that develops between Rook and Sun. Both Sun and Fable are nonbinary. Antonia is brown-skinned; Sun is implied Korean, and Rook is assumed White.
A delightful novel about magic and belonging. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 9781665916226
Page Count: 336
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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