Riveting.
In this sequel to Lies I Told (2014), Grace tries to atone for the major theft she helped her adoptive parents commit.
Grace and her big brother, Parker, were adopted out of the foster-care system by a con-artist couple who taught them the art of grifting. As an outwardly normal-looking family, they planned and pulled off cons on wealthy neighbors. Last year, however, they stole a hoard of gold from the family of Logan, Grace’s boyfriend. Parker was captured, and Grace now ditches her adoptive dad, Cormac, to return to the scene of the crime and try somehow to get Parker out of prison. She meets a former grifter who has a beef with Cormac, and they team up to try to catch him so that Grace will have ammunition for a plea deal with the prosecutor. However, finding Cormac may prove to be difficult. Zink keeps pages turning as Grace tries to stay undercover even as she contacts a detective she thinks she can trust. With every choice she makes she seems poised on the edge of a cliff, and readers will feel that vertigo all the way through. Grace’s struggle with her guilt and her desire to stay free so she can help Parker lends even further tension to the story.
Riveting. (Thriller. 12-18)Pub Date: Nov. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-232715-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Aug. 4, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2015
A magical story with a classic Disney feel exploring love, friendship, and leading amid hardship.
Shortly before the new queen’s coronation, a monster wreaks havoc, forcing a young fairy princess to intervene at her own risk.
In Pixie Hollow, the Never Fairies of Spring, Summer, and Autumn work to create seasons for the humans on the Mainland, while the fairies of Winter remain apart in the Winter Woods. Clarion, a governing-talent fairy who’s soon to take over as queen of Pixie Hollow, often looks wonderingly at the Winter Woods. But crossing the border is against the rules set forth by her mentor, Queen Elvina. When a monster from Winter breaks free and enters Spring, Clarion bristles at Elvina’s dismissal. Determined to be involved, she secretly travels to Winter, meets with Milori, the Warden of the Winter Woods, and learns that the land is nothing like what she’s heard, making her wonder what else the queen has been untruthful about. Together Milori and Clarion work to discover the secrets of Pixie Hollow, which may save them—or lead to death. Set in a magical place of flowers and pixie dust, this story considers the control we have over the roles we’re assigned. Clarion is a beautifully complex character—strong yet insecure, lovable due to her willingness to prioritize relationships over rules. Themes of fear, forbidden love, and good vs. evil are present in this fast-paced, engaging tale. Main characters are cued white.
A magical story with a classic Disney feel exploring love, friendship, and leading amid hardship. (Fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781368098458
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Disney Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 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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