A bittersweet portrayal of humanity, resilience, and courage.
An alien invasion threatens the freedom of an entire civilization.
Nica would rather be honing her Guardian skills than taking on the responsibilities of leading the nuptial pod for Rissa, her older sister, who will be bonding with Jonnat. Nica’s father is the Head Guardian of the Olomi, an amphibian people who reside in the Deep, and she’s long dreamed of following in his wake. But when an alien force suddenly arrives, it shatters the world as she knows it. Rissa goes missing, along with many other Olomi. Jonnat and Nica team up to retrieve Rissa, but Nica is captured by TAL, one of the invading landwalkers. Enslaved with other abducted Olomi in harsh, dry conditions, Nica despairs as she’s forced to serve the cruel landwalkers, whose goal is the exploitative agricultural terraformation of the Olomi’s world. Horrifyingly, Nica and her friend Pescha have been selected for invasive medical tests. Nica manages to make friends and to find allies who will sacrifice everything for a chance to return to the Deep. Hansen captures both the beauty of water and the brutality of slavery. The environmentally harmonious lives of the Olomi sharply contrast with those of the enslavers, who seek to bend the planet to their will; the parallels with trans-Atlantic chattel slavery are abundantly clear (and reinforced by Olomi vocabulary that echoes Yoruba words). The ending sets up for a sequel that readers will anticipate. Characters are fantasy diverse in appearance.
A bittersweet portrayal of humanity, resilience, and courage. (Science fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: today
ISBN: 9798886050868
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Enclave Escape
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2024
Ideal for readers seeking perspectives on war, with a heavy dash of romance and touch of fantasy.
A war between gods plays havoc with mortals and their everyday lives.
In a time of typewriters and steam engines, Iris Winnow awaits word from her older brother, who has enlisted on the side of Enva the Skyward goddess. Alcohol abuse led to her mother’s losing her job, and Iris has dropped out of school and found work utilizing her writing skills at the Oath Gazette. Hiding the stress of her home issues behind a brave face, Iris competes for valuable assignments that may one day earn her the coveted columnist position. Her rival for the job is handsome and wealthy Roman Kitt, whose prose entrances her so much she avoids reading his articles. At home, she writes cathartic letters to her brother, never posting them but instead placing them in her wardrobe, where they vanish overnight. One day Iris receives a reply, which, along with other events, pushes her to make dramatic life decisions. Magic plays a quiet role in this story, and readers may for a time forget there is anything supernatural going on. This is more of a wartime tale of broken families, inspired youths, and higher powers using people as pawns. It flirts with clichéd tropes but also takes some startling turns. Main characters are assumed White; same-sex marriages and gender equality at the warfront appear to be the norm in this world.
Ideal for readers seeking perspectives on war, with a heavy dash of romance and touch of fantasy. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-85743-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
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
SEEN & HEARD
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