Suspenseful, deeply drawn, and action-packed.
The second book in the Runestone Saga further explores the forces of greed and ambition.
Blond, blue-eyed Eiric, imprisoned in magical New Jotunheim for killing its council of elders, finds an ally in copper-skinned Reginn, who has “hair like spun gold and copper.” She’s now counselor to ambitious, powerful spinner Tyra, the mother of Liv, Eiric’s half sister. Tyra wants to wage war on Asgard, the land that Eiric comes from, and she convinces Liv (who as Heidin has been elevated to the status of a god) to build an army. With Reginn’s help, Eiric escapes and sails back to Asgard, both to warn Rikhard, the jarl, and to keep a bargain he made with him. In Asgard, he finds that he’s actually been gone for about a decade, although he only spent six months in New Jotunheim. While he was away, Rikhard has become king, and Asgard seems more prosperous under his rule. Meanwhile, as Reginn calls up an army of the dead to fight against Asgard, she’s forced to choose between Eiric and her queen. The chapters in this densely plotted story, which contains betrayal, violence, Norse mythology, and magical beings galore, as well as a healthy dose of romance, largely alternate between Eiric’s and Reginn’s points of view. As the plot lines unspool, nothing is as it appears, and readers will be kept guessing until the very end.
Suspenseful, deeply drawn, and action-packed. (map) (Fantasy. 13-18)Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2024
ISBN: 9780063018730
Page Count: 544
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2024
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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