Likely to be gobbled up by fans of the genre, but it won’t win new ones.
A paint-by-numbers dystopia neither offends nor thrills.
In a future in which corporations have taken over bankrupt states, the Executives are at the top and the Basement-dwellers, who live in a world of illegal vices, at the bottom. Nadia Lake is careful of her actions and her reputation, since she can’t afford to jeopardize the betrothal her parents made for her with Nathaniel Hayes, the Chairman Heir of Paxco. Their marriage will be in name only, since Nate is gay and in love with Kurt Bishop, his valet and a former Basement-dweller. But Nate is murdered, and Kurt is seen fleeing the scene with blood on his hands. Nate is replaced with a Replica, a perfect copy of himself, negating the tension caused by his murder. But Mosely, the sinister, mustache-twirling head of security for Nate’s father, still wants to find out who killed Nate. He threatens Nadia into spying on the replica Nate as he looks for Kurt in the Basement. Nadia and Nate will have to work together to find the truth, only to discover something much bigger than themselves. There’s a lot of setup and not a lot of payoff in this novel, the ending of which leaves open the possibility of a sequel. While Nadia and Nate display some personality, other characters, like Mosely and Kurt, are cardboard cutouts.
Likely to be gobbled up by fans of the genre, but it won’t win new ones. (Dystopian adventure. 14 & up)Pub Date: July 16, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7653-3371-1
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2013
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
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