A familiar but smart fantasy with a feminist orientation.
A girl who bucks the system gets more than she bargained for in this YA fantasy.
In the walled city of Spiregarden, girls are required by law to enter a maidenhouse once they reach puberty. There, they learn the womanly arts of cooking, cleaning, and entertaining, awaiting the day they will be matched to husbands. For the fiercely independent Kardin, life in Bellaro Maidenhouse is like a prison sentence. She sneaks out whenever she can—a serious breach of the rules. It isn’t long before Kardin is in danger of being deemed “unmatchable,” a designation that means banishment to the Sisterhood in a remote Cell beyond the walls. Enter the similarly hardheaded Cmdr. Lef, an officer in the Foxcombe, an elite fighting force charged with protecting Spiregarden from the monsters that stalk the world beyond its walls. Lef doesn’t want a wife—but he sees Kardin’s potential as a soldier. Everyone knows that neylon—as the monsters are called—are attracted to maidens. The entire society of Spiregarden is built around keeping them safe. To that end, the Foxcombe now needs to send a maiden operative out beyond the walls—and Kardin is that maiden. She’s finally escaped the life she never wanted, and she’s been given a level of freedom she’s always dreamed of. The only question is: Will she survive it? In this series opener, Kennedy’s prose is urgent and pulsing, tied closely to the emotions of her characters. Here Kardin processes the offer to join the Foxcombe: “Her heart raced with joy at evading the Cell, at achieving a childhood dream that had always been denied to her. Her mind, however, raced just as hard with terror. Every horror story of neylon she had ever been told or read cascaded through her mind like the horror scape of a nightmare.” The premise is familiar territory in many ways, combining tropes from dystopian YA with a heavy dash of Game of Thrones. That said, the author’s version is well crafted and more explicitly concerned with questioning traditional gender roles. The novel is a quick, satisfying read, and the audience will be excited to see what directions Kennedy pursues in future volumes.
A familiar but smart fantasy with a feminist orientation.Pub Date: Dec. 28, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-73408-962-2
Page Count: 269
Publisher: Bowker
Review Posted Online: Feb. 20, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Only marginally intriguing.
In a remote part of Utah, in a “temple of excellence,” the best of the best are recruited to nurture their talents.
Redemption Preparatory is a cross between the Vatican and a top-secret research facility: The school is rooted in Christian ideology (but very few students are Christian), Mass is compulsory, cameras capture everything, and “maintenance” workers carry Tasers. When talented poet Emma disappears, three students, distrusting of the school administration, launch their own investigation. Brilliant chemist Neesha believes Emma has run away to avoid taking the heat for the duo’s illegal drug enterprise. Her boyfriend, an athlete called Aiden, naturally wants to find her. Evan, a chess prodigy who relies on patterns and has difficulty processing social signals, believes he knows Emma better than anyone. While the school is an insidious character on its own and the big reveal is slightly psychologically disturbing, Evan’s positioning as a tragic hero with an uncertain fate—which is connected to his stalking of Emma (even before her disappearance)—is far more unsettling. The ’90s setting provides the backdrop for tongue-in-cheek technological references but doesn’t do anything for the plot. Student testimonials and voice-to-text transcripts punctuate the three-way third-person narration that alternates among Neesha, Evan, and Aiden. Emma, Aiden, and Evan are assumed to be white; Neesha is Indian. Students are from all over the world, including Asia and the Middle East.
Only marginally intriguing. (Mystery. 15-18)Pub Date: April 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-266203-3
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Readable but not remarkable, yet another grimdark political fantasy.
Prison life gets even more punishing in this fantasy series opener.
Seventeen-year-old Kiva Meridan is 10 years into a life sentence at “death prison” Zalindov. She’s succeeded her late father as the titular prison healer, dosing patients with herbs and possessing extensive, modern medical knowledge of bacteria, viruses, and immune systems. Aside from cheerful innocent/MacGuffin Tipp, Kiva befriends few fellow prisoners and even fewer guards, most of whom are harshly abusive. While Naari, a new female guard, and Jaren, a handsome new prisoner, chip away at her frozen facade, Kiva volunteers to undertake an epic Trial by Ordeal on behalf of the Rebel Queen, the newest political prisoner. Under pressure to save her friends, the Rebel Queen, and herself—and losing hope of rescue or release—Kiva faces four elemental magic Trials sans innate talent. In between grueling, gruesome spectacles, Kiva also acts as an epidemiologist, tracking down an illness plaguing the prisoners. The claustrophobic setting—evoking the horrors of a Siberian gulag or Nazi concentration camp—exudes dread and brutality; levity and lightness are minimal. A predictable romance ensues, and generic fantasy clichés abound—royals and rebels, lost heirs, vague magic—hastily concluded with a trite plot twist and setup for a sequel. Most main characters read as White; there is a diversity of skin tones in this fantasy world.
Readable but not remarkable, yet another grimdark political fantasy. (map) (Fantasy. 15-adult)Pub Date: April 13, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-358-43455-9
Page Count: 416
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
