A somewhat undeveloped labor of love that devoted fans may nevertheless enjoy.
A prequel to Pearson’s popular Remnant Chronicles trilogy.
She is Morrighan, a child of the Remnant. He is Jafir, a scavenger. In the turbulent landscape of a world reeling from some nameless calamity, their kind live as mortal enemies. But when their paths crossed as young children, Jafir spared Morrighan’s life, and over the years, their lives continued to intersect. Against all odds, they fall in love. Will outside forces tear them apart? Or will their love weather all storms, heralding a better future for their fractured world? There’s a poetic delicacy to Pearson’s prose and a liveliness to O’Hara’s beautifully detailed illustrations that mask the light treatment other aspects of the storytelling receive. The romance develops disconcertingly quickly relative to the book’s length and its prominence in the story as a whole; in contrast, the action doesn’t pick up until over halfway through. The inner lives and motivations of the leads, Morrighan especially, are not well developed, making it difficult to become invested in their stories, and supporting characters are uniformly nebulous. There’s a sense of a richly drawn world lurking beneath the surface, but its history and mechanics are rarely revealed, bolstering the impression that this is more dream than fleshed-out novel. Jafir is pale with blond hair and light blue eyes; Morrighan has wavy dark hair and appears to have light brown skin in the illustrations.
A somewhat undeveloped labor of love that devoted fans may nevertheless enjoy. (map, author's note) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-86835-0
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
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
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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