A fierce, loving, and exquisite humanity-centered book.
The Great Dismal Swamp is ready to unearth family secrets.
In 1722, Babylou Mac, nearly 19, killed the preacher’s son right after he murdered her mother. With the owner of the plantation where the family was enslaved in pursuit, she and her siblings fled into the magic of the Great Dismal Swamp, a wild and dangerous place that offered death and salvation in turn. In modern times, Atlas returns to her grandmother Grannylou’s home for the Bornday celebration: She and three cousins, all born on Grannylou’s birthday, are turning 19. Atlas worries that Grannylou’s age is catching up to her; she speaks of impossible, magical things, including having lived for hundreds of years. Grannylou, in turn, sees in Atlas a beacon for the lost souls, “guided by the promises of our ancestors” and seeking a paradise hidden in the swamp—but she also warns against letting the wrong people in. When Grannylou decides to return to the swamp, the cousins must unravel the secrets of the Isle of Floriate, which “has been a refuge of necessity” that blesses those “brave enough to reach its shores.” They must also guard against old enemies with grudges against their family. Poetic language, lush descriptions, and characters so conflicted and nuanced as to feel real anchor the magical elements, while the cousins untangle centuries of heartbreaks and horrors inflicted by cruel white enslavers to learn where they came from and the gifts they’ve inherited.
A fierce, loving, and exquisite humanity-centered book. (author’s note, sources) (Fantasy. 13-adult)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781250820372
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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
A dark and gripping feminist tale.
A young woman faces her past to discover the truth about one of her nation’s heroes.
When Effy Sayre, the only female architecture student at her university in Llyr, wins the competition to design Hiraeth Manor for the estate of the late Emrys Myrddin, national literary figure and her favorite author, it is the perfect opportunity to leave behind a recent trauma. She arrives to find the cliffside estate is literally crumbling into the ocean, and she quickly realizes things may not be as they seem. Preston, an arrogant literature student, is also working at the estate, gathering materials for the university’s archives and questioning everything Effy knows about Myrddin. When Preston offers to include her name on his thesis—which may allow her to pursue the dream of studying literature that was frustrated by the university’s refusal to admit women literature students—Effy agrees to help him. He’s on a quest for answers about the source of Myrddin’s most famous work, Angharad, a romance about a cruel Fairy King who marries a mortal woman. Meanwhile, Myrddin’s son has secrets of his own. Preston and Effy start to suspect that Myrddin’s fairy tales may hold more truth than they realize. The Welsh-inspired setting is impressively atmospheric, and while some of the mythology ends up feeling extraneous, the worldbuilding is immersive and thoughtfully addresses misogyny and its effects on how history is written. Main characters are cued white.
A dark and gripping feminist tale. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2023
ISBN: 9780063211506
Page Count: 384
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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