A blood feud in the long-ago past makes for an unforgettably heart-wrenching story.
In Moran’s historical fiction debut, two brothers’ mutual resentment turns them into brutal adversaries in 6th-century Britain.
Luca and his small family belong to the Dobunni tribe. His brother, Kennan, who’s only a year and a season younger, begrudges Luca’s apparent advantages, such as the education he receives at a monastery. But Luca is just as bitter; their perpetually angry father, Lucanus, unmistakably favors Kennan and reserves most disciplinary beatings for Luca. As the boys grow older, they unleash their hostility against each other in increasingly violent clashes. They’re at odds over a variety of things, including whose particular skills most benefit the family and, once they hit their teens, a girl named Bellica. Meanwhile, “foreign wolves” (tribes such as the Jutes and Saxons) have been taking land and ravaging neighboring villages. The Dobunni pin their hopes on a missing relic (allegedly, a martyr’s finger) that some believe will help them defeat the enemy tribes. This volatile climate may ultimately lead to a confrontation that one of the brothers won’t survive. The historical backdrop in Moran’s tale provides a dynamic setting; tension surges as the Jutes’ and Saxons’ continuing attacks inch closer to the Dobunni lands. But the focus is on the brothers, whose belligerence and savage fights foster a bleak narrative (“as my learning improved, I had less need of my brother’s shadow or the warmth of his shoulder against mine”). The novel is emotionally poignant as well, exploring each brother’s rationale (however misguided) and examining the relationships between Luca and his parents. Although many characters side with Kennan, some show Luca some much-needed warmth, including his younger sister, Minura, burdened with the impossible task of keeping peace between the brothers. The author’s black-and-white artwork brightens the pages with simple but affecting imagery, depicting the brothers facing off and a baby’s tiny hand clutching a thumb.
A blood feud in the long-ago past makes for an unforgettably heart-wrenching story.Pub Date: June 29, 2023
ISBN: 9798850361914
Page Count: 249
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Oct. 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.
A young woman’s experience as a nurse in Vietnam casts a deep shadow over her life.
When we learn that the farewell party in the opening scene is for Frances “Frankie” McGrath’s older brother—“a golden boy, a wild child who could make the hardest heart soften”—who is leaving to serve in Vietnam in 1966, we feel pretty certain that poor Finley McGrath is marked for death. Still, it’s a surprise when the fateful doorbell rings less than 20 pages later. His death inspires his sister to enlist as an Army nurse, and this turn of events is just the beginning of a roller coaster of a plot that’s impressive and engrossing if at times a bit formulaic. Hannah renders the experiences of the young women who served in Vietnam in all-encompassing detail. The first half of the book, set in gore-drenched hospital wards, mildewed dorm rooms, and boozy officers’ clubs, is an exciting read, tracking the transformation of virginal, uptight Frankie into a crack surgical nurse and woman of the world. Her tensely platonic romance with a married surgeon ends when his broken, unbreathing body is airlifted out by helicopter; she throws her pent-up passion into a wild affair with a soldier who happens to be her dead brother’s best friend. In the second part of the book, after the war, Frankie seems to experience every possible bad break. A drawback of the story is that none of the secondary characters in her life are fully three-dimensional: Her dismissive, chauvinistic father and tight-lipped, pill-popping mother, her fellow nurses, and her various love interests are more plot devices than people. You’ll wish you could have gone to Vegas and placed a bet on the ending—while it’s against all the odds, you’ll see it coming from a mile away.
A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781250178633
Page Count: 480
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
BOOK TO SCREEN
SEEN & HEARD
A touching story of love and grief ends in an epic battle of good versus evil.
Roberts’ latest may move you to tears, or joy, or dread, or all three.
Every summer, John and Cora Fox visit Cora’s mother, Lucy Lannigan, in Redbud Hollow, Kentucky, leaving their children, 12-year-old Thea and 10-year-old Rem, for a two-week taste of heaven. The children love Grammie Lucy far more than John’s snooty family, which looks down on Cora. Lucy, a healer with deep Appalachian roots, loves animals, cooks the best meals, plays musical instruments, and makes soap and candles for her thriving business. Thea—who’s inherited the psychic abilities passed down through the women of Lucy’s family—has vivid magical dreams, one of which becomes a living nightmare when a psychopath robs and murders John and Cora as Thea watches helplessly. Thea’s description of the killer and her ability to see him in real time help the skeptical police catch Ray Riggs, who goes to prison for life. Although Thea and Rem go on to have a wonderful childhood with Grammie, Thea constantly wages a mental battle with Riggs, who tries to use his own psychic abilities to get into her mind. Over the years, Thea uses her imagination to become a game designer while the more business-minded Rem helps manage her career. Thea eventually builds a house near Lucy, where a newly arrived neighbor is her teen crush, singer-songwriter Tyler Brennan. Tyler has his own issues and is protective of his young son but slowly builds a loving relationship with Thea, whose silence about her abilities leads to a devastating misunderstanding. At first Thea tries to keep Riggs locked out of her mind. As her powers grow, she torments him. Finally, she realizes that she must win this battle and destroy him if she’s ever to have peace.
A touching story of love and grief ends in an epic battle of good versus evil.Pub Date: May 21, 2024
ISBN: 9781250289698
Page Count: 432
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
