An earnest, if sometimes heavy-handed, Christian allegory about faith and the modern world.
Two teens make their way through a post-apocalyptic future world in Seitz’s YA series starter.
In this first installment in the House of Heaventree saga, 15-year-old Flare Flanagan and her 14-year-old brother, Cornelius, are misfits in a hypertechnological future world in which Great Storms once disrupted all satellite and electronic technology for over a year. Since then, society has been almost entirely subsumed by a gigantic company called the Global Operational Datalink, which has taken over most of the world through its communication monopoly: “It was a satellite that controlled all communications—wePhones, wePads, computers, internet, gaming,” explains the omniscient narrator. “It was supposed to be free, but nothing comes without a price.” Everybody now has an electronic chip implanted in their foreheads for instantaneous connection with the Datalink, governed by the “Herod clause,” which grants the Global Union ownership of all users’ firstborn children. Cornelius and Flare’s parents refuse to do this, thus making their children immediately identifiable outcasts, although they try to wear their hair over their foreheads to disguise their status. The pair also attend the House of Heaventree, a Christian preparatory school that aims to make its charges “physically fit, mentally fit, and most importantly, spiritually fit to handle any test of faith.” Seitz handles the work’s straightforward Christian allegory with enough skill and energy to head off any predictability. The interplay between the Flanagan children and their schoolmates at Heaventree is well rendered, and although the benefits of Cornelius’ encyclopedic recall of the Bible results in some rather on-the-nose quotations, Seitz manages to create a good balance between the Christian subtext and the bleak future setting. Religious readers are likely to find this work congenial and faith-affirming.
An earnest, if sometimes heavy-handed, Christian allegory about faith and the modern world.Pub Date: Nov. 9, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-578-32072-4
Page Count: 162
Publisher: Water Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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