A tale with steady worldbuilding and an engaging main character, aimed at genre fans.
In Conte’s YA novel, a teenage girl rediscovers her ability to see and talk to ghosts after an unexpected encounter with a Grim Reaper.
Eighteen-year-old Bostonian Katya Stevens just wants to have one normal night with her friends, Amie Espinosa and Cynthia Maroney, without having to deal with recent visions of “things and people I had never seen before. Places I had never been to.” The earthquakelike tremors that tend to follow in their wake are even more disturbing. Soon after she arrives at Amie’s 18th birthday party at a bowling alley, she sees flashes of scenes featuring “sweaty, burly men” and piercing blue eyes. Her night gets even worse when an older Scottish man cruelly rejects Katya’s friend; Katya follows him outside to give him a piece of her mind. After she witnesses him fighting a rogue spirit in a deserted alley, she exhibits a strange new power. Gregor, who’s a Grim Reaper, then tells Katya about a largely unseen world of monsters and ghosts. When the deceased refuse to “cross over,” he says, they’re pursued by Wanters—malevolent creatures from another plane who can cause natural disasters when they appear in the human realm—and an increasing number of such events have occurred lately. Katya may have something to do with this situation, and she reluctantly agrees to accompany Gregor to “the other side” for answers. Conte weaves a fast-paced tale where Katya enters a whole new realm and finds a new appreciation of life, death, and the beyond. The author’s worldbuilding skills are impressive, with Conte revealing new information at a steady clip that keeps the pages turning. Katya is a strong-willed and likable protagonist, and readers will be engaged by how she slowly comes into her own as she finds out more about her true nature. That said, the rest of the cast isn’t as fully developed, which may put off readers who aren’t YA fantasy aficionados. The ending sets things up for a sequel, but the story stands well enough on its own.
A tale with steady worldbuilding and an engaging main character, aimed at genre fans.Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9780999225943
Page Count: 358
Publisher: Sugarcane Publishing
Review Posted Online: Feb. 21, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations.
Magic, mystery, and love intertwine and invite in this newest take on the “enchanted circus” trope.
Sisters raised by their abusive father, a governor of a colonial backwater in a world vaguely reminiscent of the late 18th century, Scarlett and Donatella each long for something more. Scarlett, olive-skinned, dark of hair and attitude, longs for Caraval, the fabled, magical circus helmed by the possibly evil Master Legend Santos, while blonde, sunny Tella finds comfort in drink and the embraces of various men. A slightly awkward start, with inconsistencies of attitude and setting, rapidly smooths out when they, along with handsome “golden-brown” sailor Julian, flee to Caraval on the eve of Scarlett’s arranged marriage. Tella disappears, and Scarlett must navigate a nighttime world of magic to find her. Caraval delights the senses: beautiful and scary, described in luscious prose, this is a show readers will wish they could enter. Dresses can be purchased for secrets or days of life; clocks can become doors; bridges move: this is an inventive and original circus, laced with an edge of horror. A double love story, one sensual romance and the other sisterly loyalty, anchors the plot, but the real star here is Caraval and its secrets.
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-09525-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 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.
