A double-stranded tale for reluctant readers with humanitarian messages that are sweetly and neatly resolved.
A summer vacation suddenly turns into a rescue mission when a rush of climate refugees threatens to overwhelm the ocean world of android Hugo’s green-skinned friend, Dorian.
Hugo is eager to join Dorian and their friend Ada, a boulder who will eventually grow up to be a planet, on a trip to watery Hydrox, Dorian’s home planet. They arrive to find a crisis caused by masses of butterfly people, who have been driven from their own polluted, warming planet, and by their rapidly reproducing pet otters, who have escaped to wreak havoc on the Hydrox residents’ floating habitats and submarine farms. What’s to be done? Even as they pitch into a series of predicaments on the way to reining in the invasive pets and engineering a new local home for the refugees, clockwork ex-servant Hugo and brash, royal Dorian find their friendship blossoming into a romantic flurry of kisses and affirmations of devotion. The multiplicity of species and intelligences in this story that explores ecological themes in an intergalactic setting makes for an unusually diverse cast. Better yet, the tale ends on a cozy note as Hugo gets past self-esteem issues rooted in his artificial origins and joyfully agrees to become Dorian’s official consort. This stand-alone companion to The Starlight Watchmaker (2025) features a straightforward text and a font and paper color designed to support readers with dyslexia.
A double-stranded tale for reluctant readers with humanitarian messages that are sweetly and neatly resolved. (Steampunk. 12-18)Pub Date: April 1, 2025
ISBN: 9781454960324
Page Count: 120
Publisher: Union Square & Co.
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
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
Crowd-pleasing fun laced with political fire: a winner.
Bestselling author Faizal returns to the universe of We Hunt the Flame (2019) with a stand-alone duology opener.
Orphaned Arthie, brown-skinned with mauve hair, has created a criminal empire out of sheer pluck despite being Ceylani in Ettenia, where laws favor white people. She pulled legendary pistol Calibore from a stone plinth (though the prophecy that doing so would make her the nation’s leader turned out to be a hoax). She’s also built Spindrift, a teahouse-cum-bloodhouse, where she gathers secrets from wealthy humans and vampires, amassing power and security. Now Arthie has her sights set on vengeance—and the Ram, Ettenia’s masked monarch. When she and Jin, her brother-by-choice (who’s cued East Asian), are drawn into a heist, they assemble a diverse crew of immigrants whose roles riff on genre archetypes. The lush prose pulses with feeling as revelations are dropped and the tension ratchets up, keeping the pages turning as the motley gang plans to infiltrate a vampire society, retrieve a stolen ledger, and double-cross one of the Ram’s guards (who might be planning to double-cross them). Their ultimate goal: taking down the colonizing Ettenians and the exploitative East Jeevant Company. It’s all very exciting right up to the action-packed finale, which promises more conspiracy and (hopefully) justice to come. This compelling read offers interesting commentary on our society while feeling entirely real within the context of its own worldbuilding.
Crowd-pleasing fun laced with political fire: a winner. (map) (Fantasy. 13-18)Pub Date: Feb. 20, 2024
ISBN: 9780374389406
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2023
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