A fresh perspective that reads like a treasured favorite.
A reimagined version of the animated 1940 classic Pinocchio.
In this richly drawn retelling, the story centers on sisters Chiara and Ilaria Belmagio, living in the quiet town of Pariva in the land of Esperia. Eighteen and 16, respectively, they’re on the cusp of adulthood. Chiara receives an invitation to apprentice with the fairies, while Ilaria follows her dreams of succeeding as an opera singer. Their diverging paths set into motion an eventual struggle between the Heartless fairies, who derive power from hatred and jealousy, and those of the Wishing Star, who are devoted to the true of heart. When their friend Geppetto wishes that Pinocchio were a real boy, a wager pits the two sisters against each other and calls into question the polarity of good and evil. Readers acquainted with Disney’s original version of Pinocchio will appreciate the inclusion of iconic elements like the whale, the Blue Fairy, and Jiminy Cricket. Pariva is alive and atmospheric, and the world of the fairies is seamlessly integrated. The relationship between Chiara and Ilaria is believably close yet fraught, making the scenes between the two some of the most compelling in the book. Some of the lengthier segments could have benefited from tightening; others, like the dramatic climax, needed expanding. All principal characters are cued White.
A fresh perspective that reads like a treasured favorite. (Fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 9781368077545
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
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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