Next book

A RUSH OF WINGS

An intense, darkly atmospheric, and skillful fairy-tale retelling.

A young woman must calm the tempest within her to save her cursed family.

Eighteen-year-old Rowenna Winthrop has waited for years to learn craft from her mother, Mairead. But her lack of emotional control gives Mairead pause in teaching Rowenna the ways of the Cailleach—and just when Mairead concedes, she’s taken. Harboring the truth of the evil her mother faced and the untamed craft within her leaves Rowenna unsettled. Her foreboding grows when a fuath impersonating her mother infiltrates the family, rendering Rowenna mute and cursing her brothers to turn into swans. Determined Rowenna must travel the Highlands as she tries to expel this terrible creature. Weymouth’s storytelling is lyrical and immersive: The well-woven lore is set against the coastal, cliffside village of Neadeala and the Scottish wilderness, with shadowy creatures, bloody omens, and other carnage. Cruelty and dark forces come in the form of both the magical and also human tyrant Torr Pendragon. A romance with Gawen MacArthur, a rebel seeking the help of Rowenna’s craft, evolves naturally, and the story’s big heartache comes from family members who meet Rowenna with doubt, disbelief, and blame. In this tale inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Wild Swans,” readers will appreciate in Rowenna a fierceness as she grows into her craft and her determination and sense of self strengthen. Characters read as White.

An intense, darkly atmospheric, and skillful fairy-tale retelling. (Fantasy. 14-18)

Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-534-49308-7

Page Count: 336

Publisher: McElderry

Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2021

Next book

INDIVISIBLE

An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.

A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.

Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.

An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)

Pub Date: May 4, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8

Page Count: 400

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021

Next book

POWERLESS

From the Powerless Trilogy series , Vol. 1

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

Close Quickview