A fierce and thrilling duology closer.
Two Brooklyn teenagers from the mysterious Caribbean island of San Madrigal face battles on different fronts.
In an engrossing sequel that starts right where Ballad & Dagger (2022) left off, Mateo Matisse opens by reflecting on what Chela Hidalgo means to him. In a few short weeks they’ve grown closer, and now there’s nothing he wouldn’t do to keep her safe. Their love and partnership encompass more than any ordinary adolescent love, however—they used to be powerful but formless spirits, but they have taken the forms of teenagers. Now that San Madrigal has reemerged from the sea, Mateo and Chela must figure out how their powers work, because new enemies are waiting for them, and the struggle to vanquish them and heal divisions in their community will test them. The contrast between their godlike natures and the limitations of inhabiting young human bodies is an element that is well balanced throughout the book, and it makes the protagonists both flawed and sympathetic. Each strength of the former book is present in this volume: the musicality, the effortless racial and ethnic diversity, the themes of anti-colonization, and, perhaps most important, Older’s narrative choices. Mateo and Chela truly sound like teenagers in their alternating first-person point-of-view chapters, making it easy for readers to be immersed in their reality and root for them.
A fierce and thrilling duology closer. (glossary) (Fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: May 16, 2023
ISBN: 9781368070904
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Rick Riordan Presents/Disney
Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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