As an agent for the ill-defined Ambassadors of Light—angels? gods? vampires? It’s never clear—Juliet Capulet finds and...
Shakespeare’s famous teenage lovers are re-imagined as immortal enemies in this convoluted and occasionally gruesome update of Romeo and Juliet.
As an agent for the ill-defined Ambassadors of Light—angels? gods? vampires? It’s never clear—Juliet Capulet finds and protects new soul mates; serving the Mercenaries of the Apocalypse, Romeo Montague tries to convince one lover to kill the other and gain immortality. The fact that Juliet is also immortal—as evidenced by the title—remains unaddressed, as do the clear downsides of Romeo’s demonic afterlife. Rather than reincarnation, the two temporarily possess humans—Juliet occupies the scarred and scared Ariel Dragland, while Romeo re-animates the fresh corpse of sociopath Dylan Stroud. Their host bodies come with an abundance of emotional baggage, bad friendships and dysfunctional families, all of which they must sort through as they attend high school, search for the soul mates and perform in West Side Story. Though the characters are flat—particularly secondary ones like spoiled Gemma and brooding but noble Ben—readers seeking melodrama may be pleased by the ever-changing couplings and life-or-death situations. Jay (The Locket, 2011, etc.) celebrates the giddy rush of teenage love, but the violence—often bordering on sexual sadism—far outstrips the original tale.Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-385-74016-6
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
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
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
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