A beloved Buffyverse character gets to be the hero and find happiness in this enjoyable, witchy tale.
A teen witch gets caught up in the mysterious deaths claiming her new classmates.
After her mother, who was also a witch, died, Tara Maclay’s father started believing witches were evil, forbade Tara from exploring that part of herself, and moved their family to Hellborne, Vermont, a town proud of its witch-burning past. Fellow high school senior Baz, a himbo jock, takes Tara under his wing, but not everyone welcomes her with open arms. Tara learns that two students recently died, and she and fellow new student Daphne have been slotted into their classes. When Tara witnesses a third death, she knows these aren’t the accidents they appear; something paranormal is at play. She befriends Daphne, who is a witch hunter, and the pair set out to stop the evil before more deaths occur. Tara, a kind witch who stutters, was a lesbian icon on TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and this new tale taking place before she joined the cast fills in her backstory. There are nods to the show and its characters, but this fun and chilling mystery stands completely on its own. Tara’s strict dad adds just as much tension to the story as the murders do, and her awkward new-student feelings plus a growing crush on Daphne ground the story with relatable emotions. Tara and Baz are White; Daphne is Black.
A beloved Buffyverse character gets to be the hero and find happiness in this enjoyable, witchy tale. (Paranormal. 13-18)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2023
ISBN: 9781368075459
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
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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