A briskly entertaining novel with a colorful setting and the right mix of humor and paranormal romance.
An aspiring warlock’s attempt to satisfy a demon’s wager is complicated by zombies and bootleggers in Loebel’s (Keys to the Coven, 2013) new novel.
Clara Woodsen has a major dilemma on her hands. She’s organized a dance contest at the Falstaff Ninepin Fellowship, a witches’ coven that also features a saloon and bowling alley. The contest is part of the festivities celebrating the opening of the Hollywood Grand Hotel, and the main attraction is the actor Beau Beauregard. The promotion attracts some of the most glamorous movie stars of the 1920s, but a disaster threatens to ruin Clara’s plans. While the contest is in full swing, Beau lies in a hotel room on the verge of death from peritonitis. Desperate to save Beau’s life, and the contest, Clara decides to put her family’s supernatural powers to good use. With her cousin Bernard Benjamin as her assistant, she summons a demon named Hans to help save Beau. Hans agrees to help if Bernard teaches his genie, Ruth, to dance well enough to qualify for the contest finals. Beau’s life is spared, but he returns to Clara as a zombie. Can Clara use her powers as a warlock to cater to Beau’s needs and also win her wager with Hans? And will the unexpected arrival of bootleggers derail Clara’s plans? Loebel’s novel offers a frothy paranormal romance anchored by a well-developed setting and a clever narrative structure. Her re-creations of 1920s fashions and high-society parties, complete with references to newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst and actors Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, are vivid and lively, and the bootlegging subplot blends in seamlessly with the paranormal action. The chapters alternate between the first-person perspectives of Clara and Bernard, and this technique effectively explores the motivations of the lead characters and the consequences of their actions while also introducing a solid supporting cast. Between the zombies and the bootleggers, the action is a bit excessive; however, a robust sense of humor keeps the proceedings from going over the top.
A briskly entertaining novel with a colorful setting and the right mix of humor and paranormal romance.Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2014
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 199
Publisher: Pentachronistic Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 31, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.
A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.
Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Plum Street Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.
In the ninth book in the Bluford young-adult series, a young Latino man walks away from violence—but at great personal cost.
In a large Southern California city, 16-year-old Martin Luna hangs out on the fringes of gang life. He’s disaffected, fatherless and increasingly drawn into the orbit of the older, rougher Frankie. When a stray bullet kills Martin’s adored 8-year-old brother, Huero, Martin seems to be heading into a life of crime. But Martin’s mother, determined not to lose another son, moves him to another neighborhood—the fictional town of Bluford, where he attends the racially diverse Bluford High. At his new school, the still-grieving Martin quickly makes enemies and gets into trouble. But he also makes friends with a kind English teacher and catches the eye of Vicky, a smart, pretty and outgoing Bluford student. Martin’s first-person narration supplies much of the book’s power. His dialogue is plain, but realistic and believable, and the authors wisely avoid the temptation to lard his speech with dated and potentially embarrassing slang. The author draws a vivid and affecting picture of Martin’s pain and confusion, bringing a tight-lipped teenager to life. In fact, Martin’s character is so well drawn that when he realizes the truth about his friend Frankie, readers won’t feel as if they are watching an after-school special, but as though they are observing the natural progression of Martin’s personal growth. This short novel appears to be aimed at urban teens who don’t often see their neighborhoods portrayed in young-adult fiction, but its sophisticated characters and affecting story will likely have much wider appeal.
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004
ISBN: 978-1591940173
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Townsend Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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