A nifty premise that falls short of its potential.
Each year, a new version of Teva grows inside her and forces her way out, leaving her discarded self to join their earlier versions; this Teva, 16, won’t let that happen.
The blonde, blue-eyed, white Tevas live with their single mother. To maintain the fiction that Mom has just one child, only the latest Teva is permitted to leave the house and attend school. The younger girls are docile, but Fifteen is jealous that her successor has appropriated her South Asian best friend, Maddy, and boyfriend, Ollie, and, furious, schemes to reunite with him. Teva’s consumed with guilt at the freedom only she has, while fearful of the time when she too will be displaced. Unlike Fifteen, she’s drawn not to Ollie but to Tommo, a classmate whom she tutors in English in return for his help in a textiles project. (Both boys are attractive but racially ambiguous, implying a white default.) Teva researches her condition and, to that end, creates a blog under a fake name, to preserve the secrecy her mother insists on. At the same time, she’s haunted by a growing fear that her younger versions might not exist outside her own mind. The promising high concept is hampered by slack pacing, an oddly flat emotional tone (more Gossip Girls than Carrie), and clichéd, by-the-numbers romance complete with mean girls, college-application angst, and unwarranted focus on the minutiae of high school routine. The book is a British import, and both language and setting have been Americanized.
A nifty premise that falls short of its potential. (Science fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: June 13, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2372-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2017
Despite some missteps, this will appeal to readers who enjoy a fresh and realistic teen voice.
A teenage, not-so-lonely loner endures the wilds of high school in Austin, Texas.
Norris Kaplan, the protagonist of Philippe’s debut novel, is a hypersweaty, uber-snarky black, Haitian, French-Canadian pushing to survive life in his new school. His professor mom’s new tenure-track job transplants Norris mid–school year, and his biting wit and sarcasm are exposed through his cataloging of his new world in a field guide–style burn book. He’s greeted in his new life by an assortment of acquaintances, Liam, who is white and struggling with depression; Maddie, a self-sacrificing white cheerleader with a heart of gold; and Aarti, his Indian-American love interest who offers connection. Norris’ ego, fueled by his insecurities, often gets in the way of meaningful character development. The scenes showcasing his emotional growth are too brief and, despite foreshadowing, the climax falls flat because he still gets incredible personal access to people he’s hurt. A scene where Norris is confronted by his mother for getting drunk and belligerent with a white cop is diluted by his refusal or inability to grasp the severity of the situation and the resultant minor consequences. The humor is spot-on, as is the representation of the black diaspora; the opportunity for broader conversations about other topics is there, however, the uneven buildup of detailed, meaningful exchanges and the glibness of Norris’ voice detract.
Despite some missteps, this will appeal to readers who enjoy a fresh and realistic teen voice. (Fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-282411-0
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
Returning fans, anyway, will pounce.
Houck kicks off a new story arc in the world of the Tiger’s Curse series with new tigers who live in a northerly setting.
The death of their widowed royal mother touches off a crisis in the Kievian Empire; neither Stacia nor Verusha Stepanov, 17-year-old sword-wielding twin sisters, wants to be named tsarina. But questions of succession get put on hold when a battle with a sorcerer inexplicably turns the two into nonspeaking Siberian tigers. Hints of a cure send them, along with a growing entourage of men to provide assistance (and, perforce, do all the talking), on a long trek. Though most of the cast sticks to genre type, Houck throws in a wild card in the form of hunky, inarticulate Nikolai, who joins the quest because he is enthralled by Verusha—and who also killed his whole family in an act of revenge. Occasional anachronistic dialogue (e.g., “Are you ready, ladies?”) disrupts the tale’s generally earnest tone, as do the clumsy attempts at banter. A third tiger, snarky and blind but conveniently able to see through others’ eyes, trots in late in the story. The events in this setup volume unfold with many a flashback and change in point of view and head toward no sort of resolution—only the cave-dwelling White Shaman of the Tundra’s advice that further journeys are in the offing. The central cast in this Russian-inspired fantasy world presents white; the Indigenous population includes nomadic reindeer herders.
Returning fans, anyway, will pounce. (Fantasy. 13-16)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2024
ISBN: 9798212221696
Page Count: 350
Publisher: Blackstone
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
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