This appealingly breezy novel will whet readers’ appetites for magic and adventure.
A gently magical tale about the powers of friendship and embracing one’s identity.
Forced to leave school and her magical education three years prior, 17-year-old Aurelie has forsaken her magic and works as an unpaid baker’s apprentice. Her seeking abilities are of little value in a world where people believe magic comes at a steep cost. But when finder Iliana enters the bakery with a set of seeking stones and a tempting financial offer to split a bounty, Aurelie cannot refuse. Thus begins a quest to find Elias Allred, the youngest son of the the prince's steward, that takes them into the enchanted Underwood and throughout the kingdom, accompanied by Quad, an Uncommonfolk troll, and Prince Hapless, whom they rescue from an ambush. The quartet must rekindle their relationships with magic and use their ingenuity if they hope to defeat their foe. Teens who relish light, character-driven stories will enjoy this fantasy with a setting that evokes medieval European ways of life and social structures. The dialogue is filled with dry repartee that is also highlighted in a particularly well-crafted epistolary interlude showcasing the growing feelings, despite their social class differences, between Aurelie and the prince. The theme of making one's own family runs throughout, supporting Aurelie as she learns to trust in herself and others. Characters are cued White; there is some diversity in sexual orientation among supporting characters.
This appealingly breezy novel will whet readers’ appetites for magic and adventure. (Fantasy. 12-17)Pub Date: June 13, 2023
ISBN: 9781665926911
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 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
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
