A moody tale of teen-centered paranormal action and romance.
A New Orleans witch, hoping to rescue her father, braves the Afterworld with help from friends and enemies alike in this fourth installment of a YA saga.
Callisto Salazar has stolen teenager Adele Le Moyne’s and other witches’ Spektral magic. He and his Ghost Drinkers coven threaten the entire city. Callis has also kidnapped Adele’s father, Mac, and will kill him unless she fetches the Medici vampires’ grimoire (book of shadows). But Adele, who fancies Niccolò Medici, has a plan to save Mac and everyone else. She’ll cut Callis’ tie to his magic’s source—his late father, Jakome—in Guinée, the Afterworld. Adele, Nicco, and five other vampires and witches must each travel through Guinée’s seven gates on their way to find Jakome. Even in the Afterworld, which resembles a desolate New Orleans, Jakome is a menace, and Adele doesn’t trust all in the traveling party. Arden has amassed an impressively diverse cast of varying backgrounds, skin tones, ages, and abilities. This harrowing installment focuses a bit more on witchery than vampirism and further develops a romantic entanglement among Adele, Nicco, and Air witch Isaac Thompson, who, like his fanged rival, begins this novel harboring a secret. Arden’s prose is lyrical, especially when describing the Afterworld, an unnerving place: “The archway opened into a circular room, which was simply an enormous pool of water. The reflection of the mirrored walls sparkled atop it like diamonds in a treasure chest.” While one subplot reaches a sublime resolution, this series has more to come.
A moody tale of teen-centered paranormal action and romance.Pub Date: Jan. 19, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-9897577-6-8
Page Count: 550
Publisher: For the Art of it Publishing
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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