This is a book for fans only. New readers need not apply. (Dystopian adventure. 14 & up)
by Meagan Spooner ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2013
It’s par for the course in Book 2 of the Skylark trilogy.
Picking up right where the first left off, Lark Ainsley is on the run, desperately searching for her brother Basil. Much of the opening gets bogged down in back story, and it will take readers a while to reacquaint themselves with the rules and language of this fantasy dystopia. The story begins to pick up speed when Lark follows Basil’s trail to the city of Lethe. There, she meets an interesting new cast of characters living in a magical underground city that is both a refuge for Renewables and the heart of a resistance movement to overthrow Prometheus, the leader of the surface world. References to Greek mythology further complicate an already Byzantine dystopian world, challenging readers to find a connection between Lethe and the broader plotline involving the architects from the first novel. What’s really interesting here is Lark’s struggle to come to grips with the enormity of her power. Is she a monster? A weapon? A savior? In the midst of this identity crisis, Lark also wrestles with her feelings for Oren, the half-human, half-shadow monster that has found his way into her heart.
This is a book for fans only. New readers need not apply. (Dystopian adventure. 14 & up)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7613-8866-1
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab
Review Posted Online: Aug. 28, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2013
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More In The Series
by Holly Black ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 2, 2018
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. 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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More In The Series
by Holly Black ; illustrated by Rovina Cai
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by Leigh Bardugo ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 29, 2015
Adolescent criminals seek the haul of a lifetime in a fantasyland at the beginning of its industrial age.
The dangerous city of Ketterdam is governed by the Merchant Council, but in reality, large sectors of the city are given over to gangs who run the gambling dens and brothels. The underworld's rising star is 17-year-old Kaz Brekker, known as Dirtyhands for his brutal amorality. Kaz walks with chronic pain from an old injury, but that doesn't stop him from utterly destroying any rivals. When a councilman offers him an unimaginable reward to rescue a kidnapped foreign chemist—30 million kruge!—Kaz knows just the team he needs to assemble. There's Inej, an itinerant acrobat captured by slavers and sold to a brothel, now a spy for Kaz; the Grisha Nina, with the magical ability to calm and heal; Matthias the zealot, hunter of Grishas and caught in a hopeless spiral of love and vengeance with Nina; Wylan, the privileged boy with an engineer's skills; and Jesper, a sharpshooter who keeps flirting with Wylan. Bardugo broadens the universe she created in the Grisha Trilogy, sending her protagonists around countries that resemble post-Renaissance northern Europe, where technology develops in concert with the magic that's both coveted and despised. It’s a highly successful venture, leaving enough open questions to cause readers to eagerly await Volume 2.
Cracking page-turner with a multiethnic band of misfits with differing sexual orientations who satisfyingly, believably jell into a family . (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-62779-212-7
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
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by Leigh Bardugo ; illustrated by Daniel J. Zollinger
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by Leigh Bardugo ; adapted by Louise Simonson ; illustrated by Kit Seaton
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