A prep-school boy blackmailed for shoplifting, a classmate involved in alchemy, and a vampiric magician collecting other people’s powers are embroiled in a test of wills and powers that threatens their very lives. Quando the Magician, like Carmody Braque in Mahy’s The Changeover (1988), wants to suck the life and power out of his victims to enhance his own power, and Roland Fairfield, age 17, is his pawn. Roland, initially only concerned with saving his relationship with his beautiful girlfriend and protecting his reputation as prefect at Crichton Academy, ends up falling in love with Jess Ferret, fighting evil forces, and learning something about friendship, family, and the value of everyday life. Jess lives by herself in a big, mysterious house frozen in time. An alchemist, but not the turn-lead-into-gold kind, Jess urges Roland to learn the alchemists’ intuitive way of apprehending the everyday world—appreciating the ordinary, overlooked pleasures of colors, sounds, books, flowers, ice cream, and the lovely messiness of family life. Jess and Roland have powers not fully tested, and it is in their alliance that they are able to hold off Quando and, like alchemists, make something new out of their lives. The elements of Mahy’s best young-adult novels are here—the supernatural presence, the young protagonists with untested powers, the tribute to love and everyday family life, and rich language—but too much is explained and the resolution is quick after a carefully developed plot. Still, as a tale with likable protagonists, a ghastly villain, and ghostly special effects, it offers a thrilling ride. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: April 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-689-85053-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2003
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
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations.
Magic, mystery, and love intertwine and invite in this newest take on the “enchanted circus” trope.
Sisters raised by their abusive father, a governor of a colonial backwater in a world vaguely reminiscent of the late 18th century, Scarlett and Donatella each long for something more. Scarlett, olive-skinned, dark of hair and attitude, longs for Caraval, the fabled, magical circus helmed by the possibly evil Master Legend Santos, while blonde, sunny Tella finds comfort in drink and the embraces of various men. A slightly awkward start, with inconsistencies of attitude and setting, rapidly smooths out when they, along with handsome “golden-brown” sailor Julian, flee to Caraval on the eve of Scarlett’s arranged marriage. Tella disappears, and Scarlett must navigate a nighttime world of magic to find her. Caraval delights the senses: beautiful and scary, described in luscious prose, this is a show readers will wish they could enter. Dresses can be purchased for secrets or days of life; clocks can become doors; bridges move: this is an inventive and original circus, laced with an edge of horror. A double love story, one sensual romance and the other sisterly loyalty, anchors the plot, but the real star here is Caraval and its secrets.
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-09525-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
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