An overstuffed yet engaging series opener.
Raised at sea as a pirate with her family to escape land-dwelling monsters, a 17-year-old suddenly finds herself a captive, navigating a world of magic and politics in order to survive.
Aster Oberon has lived on the Lightbringer with her parents and six siblings her entire life. Six hundred years ago, people took to the sea after Nightweavers began hunting and enslaving humans. After her family’s ship is attacked, and her oldest brother, Owen, is killed, Aster and her family are brought to shore and sold into service at Bludgrave Manor, home of the wealthy and influential Castor family of Nightweavers. Despite their lowly status, the other members of Aster’s family seem relieved to have left their hard life at sea behind; Aster is the only one with the urge to run. But the night she tries, handsome, green-eyed Will, the son of Lord Castor, stops her with a promise: He’ll help her find the monster who killed her brother. What follows is a complicated web of half-truths, political conspiracy, magic, bloody gore, and forbidden desire. The worldbuilding in this debut grows to the point where it’s challenging to keep up with the details, and readers may become confused about who’s on the side of right and who or what they’re fighting for. Aster and Will’s romance becomes a bit repetitive, but overall, the plot offers enough twists and turns to keep readers’ attention. Main characters present white.
An overstuffed yet engaging series opener. (Fantasy. 13-18)Pub Date: March 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780316587259
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
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
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
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