In this series opener by three acclaimed authors, intriguing protagonists and cinematic powers will surely please adventure...
A sextet of mutant superhero teenagers just want to be safe in this weighty tome.
Last summer, Ethan had so antagonized his fellow Zeroes that their friendship ended. Now his own carelessness has made him a material witness in a bank robbery, and only the Zeroes can rescue him. Ethan, you see, has a secret power: “the voice.” The voice knows more than Ethan himself ever could and uses Ethan’s mouth to tell people what they need to hear in order to get Ethan out of the frying pan—though there's often a nearby fire. The other Zeroes have equally strange abilities, including Nigerian-American Chizara's ability to crash the myriad technological gadgets that cause her chronic pain; rich, Latino Nate's "Glorious Leader" charisma; and blind, white Riley's (overdone and too-obvious) extraordinary vision. The teens undergo no particular quest; the story’s driving force is the desire to escape drug-dealing mobsters. Given the fizz superhero teens could contribute to any narrative, this tome is oddly weighty in both tone and heft. These solidly characterized 16- and 17-year-olds all have younger siblings who seem quirky enough for sequel-bait; hopefully they won't become more noise in the already-crowded premise.
In this series opener by three acclaimed authors, intriguing protagonists and cinematic powers will surely please adventure fans who don't mind an ensemble developed at the expense of the individual . (Science fiction. 13-15)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4814-4336-4
Page Count: 560
Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 5, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2015
There’s some originality here, though it’s hard to unearth amid all the melodrama
An illegitimate girl who hopes to find her creative passion may be connected to another kingdom’s magical history.
At 10, white, orphaned Brienna was brought to Magnalia House. For the last seven years she’s studied to become an arden, an apprentice passion, with the goal of finding her patron. The arden-sisters study art, dramatics, music, wit, and knowledge; Brienna, who has no true vocation, has eccentrically studied in all the fields. Though she doesn’t truly belong among the talented (and somewhat racially diverse) noble girls of Magnalia House, they are her beloved friends. Perhaps once she’s passioned, she can even act on her romantic feelings for the white knowledge master. But Brienna’s having strange visions lately; could they be ancestral memories of an unknown forbear from the neighboring country? What with romance, jealousy, family drama, betrayals, ancient magical history, and characters with multiple secret identities, there’s a nigh-constant pitch of throbbing…well, passion. A voice is like “tamed thunder,” and hair is like “a stream of silver.” Malapropisms abound (“punctures of laughter”; “her beauty warbled by the mullioned windows”). Oddly, most of the shocking revelations of back story are openly detailed in the lengthy family trees at the novel’s opening.
There’s some originality here, though it’s hard to unearth amid all the melodrama . (Fantasy. 13-15)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-247134-5
Page Count: 464
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2017
The Salt trilogy closes with a third generation of children fighting petty but dangerous evils. Hana, a girl from the city's wretched Bawdhouse Burrow, is orphaned when her mother is burned as a witch. Ben grows up far from the city, raised by his grandparents Pearl and Hari in the idyllic village from Gool (2010). When Hana flees the city, she brings with her a terrifying message for those outside its darkness: The Limping Man is coming. He has the terrible power to make people love him even as he torments them, and he plans to wipe out all who stand against him. Since most of the outsiders—Ben's family, the forest Dwellers and "the people without a name"—have mental powers, the Limping Man intends to massacre them. Ben and Hana, along with their allies, must find the Limping Man's secret in order to save their own lives and homes. Ben and Hana’s victories, like those of their parents and grandparents, are local. Even if they do defeat the Limping Man, they cannot vanquish evil from the world; life in the burrows will likely continue to be nasty, brutish and short. The heroes' personalities are defined by their harsh environments, but they reach beyond those limitations. Fantasy heroes who can save only themselves and their loved ones are a welcome change from the usual. (Fantasy. 13-15)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-55469-216-3
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2011
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