Ruthless and tender by turns: a triumph of historical fiction.
A young woman goes hungry—and falls in love—in the Virginia Company’s colony of James Fort.
The year is 1609, and Ellis has traveled alone across the ocean from England to be an indentured servant to Henry Collins. She’s come to seek a better life, her family back home fractured by death and poverty, but she soon learns that this land is no undiscovered Eden, ripe for the taking. Tensions are rising between the Indigenous Powhatan people and the invading European settlers, and the cruelty of claim-laying extends to Ellis’ own hearth, where Henry treats her as property and abuses both her and his pregnant wife. Meanwhile, winter draws ever closer, and with it the specter of starvation. A bright light in all this darkness is Jane, a spritely young woman who loves Ellis fiercely and shamelessly. Ellis loves her, too—as secretly as she can, given Henry’s violent disapproval. The two are friends with Rowan, a deeply kind young man who’s come to the settlement alone; he’s their companion in misadventure as they seek sustenance and survival. Bruzas pulls no punches with her lean, lyrical prose. Ellis’ voice is entirely convincing, her quiet observations of people and situations around her perfectly embedded in her own experiences even as they elucidate for a contemporary audience the brutal harm done by her settlement.
Ruthless and tender by turns: a triumph of historical fiction. (content note, author’s note, end note, select bibliography) (Historical fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2024
ISBN: 9780593616208
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Rocky Pond Books/Penguin
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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
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
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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