An entertaining, well-characterized foray into a world of magical secrets.
A girl who fears magic comes into her own power as she tries to stop her friend from joining a covert society.
Merry, whose mother was cursed by a witch and died, lives in the town of Candlecott in Anglyon, where she’s inseparable from her two best friends, Teddy and Sol. Teddy decides to join the Order of Toadmen, “a secret gentlemen’s society” whose members wield magic that Merry suspects is both illegal and dangerous. Hoping to protect Teddy, she accepts an offer from Caraway, the boy she’s in competition with for the top ranking at school, to attend a mysterious Toad ceremony. There, she uncovers secrets both personal and societal, and her understanding of the world she lives in—and how she should behave in it—is drastically altered. Merry, with her headstrong nature and intense love for her friends and family, is an engaging first-person narrator, and her enemies-to-lovers romance with Caraway unfolds in believable beats; Wilkinson also writes supporting characters like Teddy and Sol in a compelling and nuanced way. The magic system is intriguing, particularly Merry’s ability to see the silver and brown mettle, or “strands of life-force,” that drives it. The mysteries of the Toadmen keep readers in suspense, with Merry gradually uncovering truths about their rituals that connect to the larger social structure of Anglyon and threaten Merry’s own future. Most major characters are pale-skinned; Sol has brown skin.
An entertaining, well-characterized foray into a world of magical secrets. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: April 16, 2024
ISBN: 9780593562703
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2024
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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