A bold and immersive work combining prose and art to form a compelling adventure.
In an alternate historical Japan, two siblings are sent from their home on a mission to uncover an island’s secrets.
Hakai Hyo, Thirty-Third Hellmaker in her family line, is cursed with bearing “unluck” and passing it on to others, while Mansaku, her older brother, hosts the spirit of a nagigama, or weapon, within him. When Hyo makes a deal with the demon who killed everyone in their village, Hyo and Mansaku must travel to Onogoro, a Special Cultural Zone and the only island where Ukoku’s gods still live. Upon their arrival, they’re drawn into a slow-burn murder mystery as well as Hyo’s first special commission as a hellmaker. Caught between the demands of humans, different levels of gods, and their own need to find the truth, Hyo and Mansaku become increasingly aware that Hyo must listen to her hellmakers’ en, or the “fateful connection pulling threads taut.” Ghosh’s debut novel features lush, vivid descriptions, while her black-and-white illustrations, which evoke traditional Japanese wood engravings and ink and watercolor paintings, bring the characters to life with striking power. The story takes its time, carefully establishing the worldbuilding and large cast of characters before plunging into the gripping second half. The weaving together of Japanese history and mythology gives this story a fresh feel.
A bold and immersive work combining prose and art to form a compelling adventure. (map, glossary, author’s note) (Fantasy mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: April 15, 2025
ISBN: 9781546152644
Page Count: 544
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.
Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868138
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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