by Olivia A. Cole ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 16, 2019
Readers will eagerly barrel over the edge of this cliffhanger.
Picking up directly after the events in A Conspiracy of Stars (2018), this volume follows Octavia in her search for answers and her discovery of yet more questions.
After losing her mother and uncovering the sinister plans of N’Terra’s most influential and extremist leader, Octavia flees her home, enduring another shock when she encounters her supposedly dead grandparents. Safe in the bewildering and amazing Faloii city of Mbekenkanush, Octavia discovers over 100 humans—Acclimates who left N’Terra to learn from the Faloii. Their peace is shattered, however, when one of Dr. Albatur’s weaponized experiments attacks and the Faloii become aware of N’Terra’s violations of Faloiv’s delicate natural order—crimes that risk open war not just with the Faloii, but with the planet itself. Octavia is frantic to stem the tide of conflict, but every move she makes only seems to unearth more treacherous secrets and deeper connections between the N’Terrans and the Faloii stretching back long before the humans ever crashed onto the planet. As with the first book, readers who hunger for immersive worldbuilding and for the moral ambiguity that is native to sci-fi as a genre will be well-sated here. Plot development that initially teeters toward a colonizer-savior narrative (much like Avatar) frenetically swings into greater, if still anthropocentric, complexity toward its conclusion. Octavia and several other characters are black; ethnicity is unclear for other humans.
Readers will eagerly barrel over the edge of this cliffhanger. (Science fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: April 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-264424-4
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
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by Isabel Ibañez ; illustrated by Isabel Ibañez ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 5, 2024
A thrilling, beautifully written page-turner.
A young woman pursues a dangerous quest in late-1800s Egypt in this sequel to What the River Knows (2023).
After Inez Olivera was nearly murdered while assisting with her uncle’s archaeological expedition in Egypt, Tío Ricardo is eager to ship her home to safety in Argentina. But Inez burns with the need to stay and make sure that those who committed crimes against her family are held responsible. Unfortunately, the law precludes Inez, as a young unmarried woman, from accessing her inheritance (needed to fund her quest for justice) without her guardian uncle’s permission. Whitford Hayes, a former British soldier and her tío’s aide-de-camp, proposes marriage, which could solve her problems. But can Inez trust the secretive Whit? More danger and intrigue lurk at every turn in this exciting duology closer, which fully addresses the first entry’s jaw-dropping cliffhanger. The well-paced plot encompasses many fresh, new adventures and betrayals in this reimagined historical setting in which ancient magic abounds and not everyone or everything is what it seems. Even more captivating, however, is the complicated, nuanced love story between Whit and Inez. Their chemistry sizzles, but their relationship is achingly layered with both profound loyalty and deep deception. As their journey unearths new enemies and priceless archaeological finds, the duo must try to trust each other enough to survive.
A thrilling, beautifully written page-turner. (cast of characters, map, timeline) (Historical fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781250822994
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2024
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by Laura Nowlin ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2013
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
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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
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