A mostly promising debut.
To save her friend and sister, a young girl embarks on a treacherous mission.
Just five years ago, the island of Midaga was protected by the Twelve, warriors endowed with a magical treasure and animal power from the Asian zodiac. But then the villainous Dragonlord took control, eliminating the Twelve and their apprentices, or Heirs. Since then, all individuals with zodiac powers have been hunted or forced into hiding. When Usagi’s sister, Uma, and friend Tora are kidnapped by the Dragonlord’s men due to their powers, she joins forces with a group of bandits who turn out to be renegade Heirs trained by the last surviving Warrior, Horangi the Tigress. Usagi, endowed with powers of the wood rabbit, finds herself torn: Should she immediately rescue her friend and sister or prove her worth by climbing Mount Jade and training to become an Heir? Rumors that the Dragonlord plans to execute his weak captives accelerate everything, cutting short her training and sending Usagi and the Heirs to infiltrate the Dragonlord’s lair. Although this fantasy is not based on a specific culture, the majority of characters’ names have East Asian derivations. Unfortunately, other aspects of the worldbuilding are not so solid. Oddly for a book set on an island, for instance, there’s no mention of the ocean or ports and very little consumption of seafood. Obstacles are frequent but resolve quickly, limiting suspense but keeping pages turning.
A mostly promising debut. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: July 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-282127-0
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship.
A young tennis champion becomes the target of revenge.
In this sequel to Legacy and the Queen (2019), Legacy Petrin and her friends Javi and Pippa have returned to Legacy’s home province and the orphanage run by her father. With her friends’ help, she is in training to defend her championship when they discover that another player, operating under the protection of High Consul Silla, is presenting herself as Legacy. She is so convincing that the real Legacy is accused of being an imitation. False Legacy has become a hero to the masses, further strengthening Silla’s hold, and it becomes imperative to uncover and defeat her. If Legacy is to win again, she must play her imposter while disguised as someone else. Winning at tennis is not just about money and fame, but resisting Silla’s plans to send more young people into brutal mines with little hope of better lives. Legacy will have to overcome her fears and find the magic that allowed her to claim victory in the past. This story, with its elements of sports, fantasy, and social consciousness that highlight tensions between the powerful and those they prey upon, successfully continues the series conceived by late basketball superstar Bryant. As before, the tennis matches are depicted with pace and spirit. Legacy and Javi have brown skin; most other characters default to White.
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-949520-19-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Granity Studios
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
An enthralling fantasy debut exploring exploitation by those in power.
Will 12-year-old Nura be able to outsmart the trickster jinn and save herself and her friends?
Nura lives in the fictional Pakistani town of Meerabagh, where she has worked mining mica to help support her family of five—her mother, herself, and her three younger siblings—since her father’s death. In the mines she has the company of her best friend, Faisal, who is teased by other kids for his stutter, and she enjoys small pleasures like splurging on gulab jamun. Although Maa wants Nura to stop working and attend school, she has no interest in classroom learning and hopes to save up to send her younger siblings to school instead so they can break the family’s cycle of poverty. Following a mining accident in which Faisal and others are lost in the rubble, Nura goes to the rescue. In her quest, she is plunged into the magical, glittering jinn realm, where nothing is as it seems. The author seamlessly weaves into the worldbuilding of the story commentary on real-life problems such as the ravages of child labor and systems that perpetuate inequities. An informative author’s note further explores present-day global cycles of oppression as well as the life-changing power of education. This action-packed story set in a Muslim community moves at a fast pace, with evocative writing that brings the fantasy world to life and lyrical imagery to describe emotions.
An enthralling fantasy debut exploring exploitation by those in power. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: July 5, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5795-6
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Jimmy Patterson/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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