A colorful, inventive story of a somewhat drab witch seeking her own identity and true love.
A young witch must flee her family and reinvent herself in this fantasy series opener.
As the first of Levy’s Witch’s Odyssey series begins, young college student Ivy Nichols O’Reilly wants the same things many college students want: to escape the expectations of her family, to make new friends, to find out who she really is. But Ivy’s case is complicated. She’s a witch from a family of witches, headed by the most powerful witch of all, her family’s matriarch, Hazel, who has Ivy’s life all mapped out. With the encouragement of her Wood Nymph friend Mei-Xing, Ivy decides to drop out of college and flee from her mother’s plans—a course of action that will require her to use both magic and online savvy in order to take on her new identity as Georgette. She and Mei-Xing hit the road and encounter a wide array of supernatural beings, from sorcerers to vampires to a Valkyrie warrior woman, always with the threat of Hazel’s revenge lurking in the background. Levy presents readers with a skillful blend of episodic road-trip adventure and deeply personal identity struggles as Georgette tries to work out her place in the world—and maybe even fall in love. Levy sharply conveys the loneliness of Ivy’s decision to become Georgette (“Do not make friends,” a character warns her. “Do not fall in love….Do not sleep deeply until you can safely say that you are no longer Ivy O’Reilly”). The large supporting cast—especially Delia the Valkyrie, who often steals the show—is where the book shines, especially since, alas, Ivy/Georgette herself is too bland and reactive to carry as much of the narrative. There’s energetic storytelling here, however, and further books in the series are welcome.
A colorful, inventive story of a somewhat drab witch seeking her own identity and true love.Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781684632244
Page Count: 440
Publisher: SparkPress
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
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