An exciting, emotional, twist-filled page-turner.
After a brutal public betrayal, an 18-year-old girl with magical powers seeks revenge on her former best friend.
In late-19th-century New York City, Emmy Vallillo doesn’t have much, but she has her father, her dressmaker best friend, Grace Montgomery, and her magic—turning ordinary metals into gold. When the Society of the Charmed, a wealthy, secret group of magical people, invites Emmy and Grace to a debutante ball, Emmy thinks she’s made it: She’s found a way to study and grow her magic openly. Until, that is, she performs for the Society. Fool’s gold falls from her dress—a dress Grace gave her—and she’s accused of being a fraud. Suddenly, her powers are suppressed, she’s imprisoned, and her father is killed. Two years later, Emmy escapes, thanks to a fellow prisoner, wealthy Jack Fontaine, who was born into the Society. Like her, he has a score to settle with them: the death of his entire family. Jack needs Emmy’s magic, just as she needs his connections. Their hesitant alliance soon blooms into a complex relationship marked by love, fear, and desire. Smith effectively weaves in themes of friendship, loyalty, fate, and family. Jack and Emmy, who are cued white, are beautifully drawn characters, who show strength and love in their actions, even those driven by darker emotions. Minor characters play a significant role in bringing out the pair’s best, helping to create a world readers will want to revisit.
An exciting, emotional, twist-filled page-turner. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780063239623
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Storytide/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2025
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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