A lukewarm historical fairy-tale fantasy.
Hilde may look like a human girl, but she’s not one—though sometimes, she is a swan.
Set in our human past as well as the mystical world of spirits and gods, Hilde’s story takes her from her magical and secluded woodland home into late-1800s Bavaria. Hilde and her five sisters are the daughters of the god Odin, the All-Father. Each of the young women has been endowed with a special gift as well as the ability to turn dreams into reality. Hilde’s desire to distance herself from her particularly macabre skill—“The gift / of greeting / death”—sparks her desire to flee with her new friend, the human boy Baron Maximilian von Richter, leaving behind her duties in favor of human girlhood. When Richter takes Hilde to the great and bustling city of Munich and the court of melancholy King Ludwig II, she meets Franz Mendelsohn, a nonbinary Jewish teen artist. As Hilde and Franz grow close, they strive to create a successful balance between magic and reality, encountering surprising kindness and deep betrayal along the way. Written in sparse free verse, this character-driven queer narrative is an original yet slow-moving story of an otherworldly being trying to find her place in the universe. Though lyrical, the simple poetry and unembellished plot make this milquetoast historical fantasy ultimately fall flat. Main human characters are presumed White; Hilde is darker skinned and has red hair.
A lukewarm historical fairy-tale fantasy. (Verse fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: July 11, 2023
ISBN: 9781682634837
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Peachtree Teen
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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
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