A complex, witty page-turner, ideal for YA fans of scandal and romance.
This hilarious, dark YA novel, the first in Wolf’s (Disarranged, 2013, etc.) Lovely Vicious series, examines the difficulties of love and high school through the scornful eyes of a teenager who’s droll beyond her years.
Isis Blake is a clever, feisty, and seemingly confident teenage girl starting her senior year of high school in Northplains, Ohio, far away from her old life in Florida. She has a secret past full of bullying and heartbreak, and she’s riddled with obsessive thoughts of a boy whom she can only refer to as “Nameless.” As a result, she’s decided to swear off love for the rest of her life, declaring, “Love…is the enemy. Do not consort with the enemy.” She encounters Jack Hunter, a guy who “talks like an Einstein clone and looks like an underwear ad,” and punches him in the face at a party for insulting her new friend Kayla, who reminds her of her former self. She soon finds herself at war with Jack, nicknamed “The Ice Prince” by other teenagers who are hopelessly in love with him, and will stop at nothing to ruin his reputation as the mystifying, self-possessed Adonis of East Summit High. This YA novel is a juicy, enthralling read, driven by a devious, over-the-top war of wits between Jack and Isis. Through Isis’ first-person perspective, Wolf perfectly captures the frenzied stream of consciousness of an eccentric 17-year-old girl who aims to humiliate a boy in order to avenge the broken part of herself. However, it’s Isis’ depth that makes her a remarkable character. Her self-deprecating sense of humor and relentless one-liner retorts hide her insecurities; as the novel unfurls, so does her innermost self. Her dedication to her emotionally wounded mother is also commendable and illustrates that Isis is mature beyond her years. The mysteries surrounding her past heartbreak, Jack’s true emotions, and a disturbing revenge prank gone horribly wrong propel a narrative that’s quite difficult to put down.
A complex, witty page-turner, ideal for YA fans of scandal and romance.Pub Date: April 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-63375-229-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A troubling depiction of an unhealthy relationship.
A battered girl and an injured rugby star spark up an ill-advised romance at an Irish secondary school.
Beautiful, waiflike, 15-year-old Shannon has lived her entire life in Ballylaggin. Alternately bullied at school and beaten by her ne’er-do-well father, she’s hopeful for a fresh start at Tommen, a private school. Seventeen-year-old Johnny, who has a hair-trigger temper and a severe groin injury, is used to Dublin’s elite-level rugby but, since his family’s move to County Cork, is now stuck captaining Tommen’s middling team. When Johnny angrily kicks a ball and knocks Shannon unconscious (“a soft female groan came from her lips”), a tentative relationship is born. As the two grow closer, Johnny’s past and Shannon’s present become serious obstacles to their budding love, threatening Shannon’s safety. Shannon’s portrayal feels infantilized (“I looked down at the tiny little female under my arm”), while Johnny comes across as borderline obsessive (“I knew I shouldn’t be touching her, but how the hell could I not?”). Uneven pacing and choppy sentences lead to a sudden climax and an unsatisfyingly abrupt ending. Repetitive descriptions, abundant and misogynistic dialogue (Johnny, to his best friend: “who’s the bitch with a vagina now?”), and graphic violence also weigh down this lengthy tome (considerably trimmed down from its original, self-published length). The cast of lively, well-developed supporting characters, especially Johnny’s best friend and Shannon’s protective older brother, is a bright spot. Major characters read white.
A troubling depiction of an unhealthy relationship. (author’s note, pronunciations, glossary, song moments, playlists) (Romance. 16-18)Pub Date: Nov. 28, 2023
ISBN: 9781728299945
Page Count: 626
Publisher: Bloom Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
A thrilling romance that could use more even pacing.
For the second time in her life, Leo must choose between her family and true love.
Nineteen-year-old Princess Leonie Kolburg’s royal family is bankrupt. In order to salvage the fortune they accrued before humans fled the frozen Earth 170 years ago, Leonie’s father is forcing her to participate in the Valg Season, an elaborate set of matchmaking events held to facilitate the marriages of rich and royal teens. Leo grudgingly joins in even though she has other ideas: She’s invented a water filtration system that, if patented, could provide a steady income—that is if Leo’s calculating Aunt Freja, the Captain of the ship hosting the festivities, stops blocking her at every turn. Just as Leo is about to give up hope, her long-lost love, Elliot, suddenly appears onboard three years after Leo’s family forced her to break off their engagement. Donne (Brightly Burning, 2018) returns to space, this time examining the fascinatingly twisted world of the rich and famous. Leo and her peers are nuanced, deeply felt, and diverse in terms of sexuality but not race, which may be a function of the realities of wealth and power. The plot is fast paced although somewhat uneven: Most of the action resolves in the last quarter of the book, which makes the resolutions to drawn-out conflicts feel rushed.
A thrilling romance that could use more even pacing. (Science fiction. 16-adult)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-328-94894-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
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