02/22/2016
Faithful fans of the Selection series can dive into this Little Mermaid–esque story, originally self-published in 2009, but revised for its rerelease. After a shipwreck kills Kahlen’s parents, she is rescued from drowning by the sentient Ocean herself, but must serve for 100 years as a siren, using her beauty and otherworldly voice to lure humans to horrible deaths at sea. Kahlen detests her macabre work but finds some contentment with her siren sisters, until she unexpectedly falls in love with a guileless human, Akinli. Since sirens can’t age, speak, or marry, their romance seems doomed. Kahlen and Akinli are playfully cute, but the chemistry is missing, and readers may question why Kahlen risks so much for a guy she barely knows. The siren world is fascinating if somewhat underdeveloped—e.g. how do these girls have endless amounts of money to use in the human world? However, the sisterly bond between the sirens is touching, and Kahlen is sweet, if docile. Despite the story’s weaknesses, Cass seeds it with enough intrigue to keep readers curious about how this hopeless love affair will play out. Ages 13–up. Agent: Elana Roth Parker, Red Tree Literary. (Jan.)
This month’s most anticipated teen novels take young readers on trips across time, into dark dystopias, and, most dangerously of all, into the halls of a modern-day high school under siege. From a paranormal standalone by The Selection author Kiera Cass, to a series starter from The Darkest Minds author Alexandra Bracken, these are the […]
We’re exploding into 2016 with a to-be-read list so unwieldy it has grown different heads like a hydra (emails, Notes drafts, random pieces of paper, internet lists, elaborately decorated cakes…). January kicks off a crazy exciting year of new books with series starters everyone wants, ballsy concepts that will terrify and fascinate, subversive fantasies, and funny, updated noir. […]
An ancient debt. A forbidden romance. A heroine blessed, and cursed, with seductive powers that could save her life…if they don’t destroy her. If you’re a fan of Kiera Cass’s The Selection, all of this probably sounds familiar in the best possible way. But that just goes to show that long before the Bachelor–meets–Hunger Games action […]
This month on the Teen shelves, Victoria Aveyard returns with a follow-up to last year’s best-selling dystopic fantasy Red Queen, Tommy Wallach follows We All Looked Up with a coming of age tale with an irresistible touch of magic, and Ruta Sepetys tells a little known chapter of World War II history through the eyes of […]