A few rough bits but inventive and visually stunning.
A young witch whose magic has been burned away undertakes healing journeys both physical and metaphorical in this graphic novel that was first serialized on Instagram.
Mingling riveting illustrations that incorporate fades, flashbacks, and other cinematic effects with a typographically venturesome narrative, Dhaliwal tells a tale of heroic exploits in which allegorical elements are never far beneath the surface. Burned at the stake but rescued by a pair of helpful (if often annoying) witches on a quest of their own, dark-skinned young “Singe” goes in search of her real name and the rest of her burned-away memories, as well as her lost magic, while her body slowly recovers. Along the way to a climax on the shores of Perish Lake, she meets other witches—notably Smoke Witch, a collective gathering of burnt but still aware ashes that rides the night wind—and engages in desperate struggles with three powerful, vividly portrayed demons: Disgust, Doubt, and Despair. The author’s imagination and graphic skills outpace her literary chops, but there’s plenty of entertaining friction and bonding in the colorfully wrought cast, and more than enough action in the plot to make it easy to overlook awkward phrasings and inappropriate word choices. Said plot does take some arbitrary turns, perhaps so that the ending can be left conveniently open. Still, it’s a grand adventure in a richly articulated setting, featuring a racially diverse cast and clever twists aplenty.
A few rough bits but inventive and visually stunning. (Graphic fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: May 28, 2024
ISBN: 9781770466999
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Drawn & Quarterly
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
Dark, seductive, but over-the-top: Characters and book alike will enthrall those who choose to play.
Garber returns to the world of bestseller Caraval (2017), this time with the focus on younger, more daring sister Donatella.
Valenda, capital of the empire, is host to the second of Legend’s magical games in a single year, and while Scarlett doesn’t want to play again, blonde Tella is eager for a chance to prove herself. She is haunted by the memory of her death in the last game and by the cursed Deck of Destiny she used as a child which foretold her loveless future. Garber has changed many of the rules of her expanding world, which now appears to be infused with magic and evil Fates. Despite a weak plot and ultraviolet prose (“He tasted like exquisite nightmares and stolen dreams, like the wings of fallen angels, and bottles of fresh moonlight.”), this is a tour de force of imagination. Themes of love, betrayal, and the price of magic (and desire) swirl like Caraval’s enchantments, and Dante’s sensuous kisses will thrill readers as much as they do Tella. The convoluted machinations of the Prince of Hearts (one of the Fates), Legend, and even the empress serve as the impetus for Tella’s story and set up future volumes which promise to go bigger. With descriptions focusing primarily on clothing, characters’ ethnicities are often indeterminate.
Dark, seductive, but over-the-top: Characters and book alike will enthrall those who choose to play. (glossary) (Fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: May 29, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-250-09531-2
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel,...
Adventure drags our heroine all over the map of fantasyland while giving her the opportunity to use her smarts.
Elisa—Princess Lucero-Elisa de Riqueza of Orovalle—has been chosen for Service since the day she was born, when a beam of holy light put a Godstone in her navel. She's a devout reader of holy books and is well-versed in the military strategy text Belleza Guerra, but she has been kept in ignorance of world affairs. With no warning, this fat, self-loathing princess is married off to a distant king and is embroiled in political and spiritual intrigue. War is coming, and perhaps only Elisa's Godstone—and knowledge from the Belleza Guerra—can save them. Elisa uses her untried strategic knowledge to always-good effect. With a character so smart that she doesn't have much to learn, body size is stereotypically substituted for character development. Elisa’s "mountainous" body shrivels away when she spends a month on forced march eating rat, and thus she is a better person. Still, it's wonderfully refreshing to see a heroine using her brain to win a war rather than strapping on a sword and charging into battle.
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel, reminiscent of Naomi Kritzer's Fires of the Faithful (2002), keeps this entry fresh. (Fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-202648-4
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
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