The Scandinavian atmosphere and engaging narrative voices uplift and deepen this magical boarding school story.
This trilogy opener, translated from the original Danish, brings together a restless spirit and four new friends investigating an unsolved murder.
Four protagonists narrate this well-written and well-conceived story. Wealthy, stylish, but haunted Victoria; prickly, direct Malou; insecure, unworldly Kirstine; and cozy, maternal Chamomile have been accepted as first-year students at Rosenholm Academy on Zealand. Not your average boarding school, Rosenholm teaches four branches of magic: Earth, Growth, Blood, and Death, and each student becomes a mage in one of them. Not unexpectedly (but helpfully for character development) Kirstine, Malou, Victoria, and Chamomile each have different mage abilities. In its narrative style as well as its emphasis on Norse mythology and magic, this one mostly walks its own path within a setting that holds evergreen appeal as a genre staple. As the story unfolds, Trine, the spirit who is haunting Victoria, reveals to the four girls during a séance that she was murdered at Rosenholm. Trine offers a mysterious warning and asks the friends to discover who killed her. The choice to alternate among the third-person perspectives of the different narrators works well, giving the novel a lively narrative lilt. Text messages, some cryptic, some not, liven up both the design and the intrigue factor. The ending sets up the next book in the series. Main characters read white.
The Scandinavian atmosphere and engaging narrative voices uplift and deepen this magical boarding school story. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781646900121
Page Count: 345
Publisher: Arctis Books
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
A thrilling, beautifully written page-turner.
A young woman pursues a dangerous quest in late-1800s Egypt in this sequel to What the River Knows (2023).
After Inez Olivera was nearly murdered while assisting with her uncle’s archaeological expedition in Egypt, Tío Ricardo is eager to ship her home to safety in Argentina. But Inez burns with the need to stay and make sure that those who committed crimes against her family are held responsible. Unfortunately, the law precludes Inez, as a young unmarried woman, from accessing her inheritance (needed to fund her quest for justice) without her guardian uncle’s permission. Whitford Hayes, a former British soldier and her tío’s aide-de-camp, proposes marriage, which could solve her problems. But can Inez trust the secretive Whit? More danger and intrigue lurk at every turn in this exciting duology closer, which fully addresses the first entry’s jaw-dropping cliffhanger. The well-paced plot encompasses many fresh, new adventures and betrayals in this reimagined historical setting in which ancient magic abounds and not everyone or everything is what it seems. Even more captivating, however, is the complicated, nuanced love story between Whit and Inez. Their chemistry sizzles, but their relationship is achingly layered with both profound loyalty and deep deception. As their journey unearths new enemies and priceless archaeological finds, the duo must try to trust each other enough to survive.
A thrilling, beautifully written page-turner. (cast of characters, map, timeline) (Historical fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781250822994
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 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
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