Shelf Awareness--Immortal Dark

YA Review: Immortal Dark

Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 432p., ages 14-up, 9780316570381, September 3, 2024)

Immortal Dark is a fabulously bloody and intricate reimagining of the vampire myth, wherein an ancient agreement between vampires--or "dranaics"--and humans is all that keeps a massive slaughter of mortals at bay. But the stasis becomes threatened when one bitter, self-destructive 19-year-old embarks on a mission to save her twin, no matter the cost.

Kidan Adane is a murderer. And she'll kill again when she finds the "shadowy vampire" she is convinced kidnapped her twin sister, June. When Kidan's aunt dies, Kidan finds herself heiress to her parents' legacy, which should include the great House Adane, located on the hidden campus of Uxlay University. Uxlay is an ancient Black community that exists because of an uneasy peace, the Three Binds, that was created long ago in Ethiopia between dranaics and humans. Before the powerful binds, "humans were hunted and tortured by vampires," but once the alliance was forged, vampires were invited to live alongside humans as companions.

In a baffling twist, Kidan's parents have willed House Adane not to Kidan, but to dranaic Susenyos Sagad, the very vampire Kidan is seeking. To get to him and break her parents' will so she can inherit, Kidan must live in the estate with Susenyos; at the same time, each races to master the very real power of House Adane. Kidan and Susenyos, with his features "cut like dark glass," behave brutally--despite their growing and violent attraction--as each plots to make the other leave. As secret societies with unknown allegiances contribute to a trail of corpses, Kidan realizes the odds she'll save June without losing her own life are slim. But Kidan has always intended to die for her twin, "wreaking as much chaos as she [can] before facing hell itself."

Tigest Girma's ambitious, vividly imagined debut conjures a complex, often messy world in which humans vie for power and vampires fight for control. Her smart writing, which never shies away from violence, features a cutthroat society where life (both human and immortal) is cheap. Girma's heroes--angry, driven by their own conflicting desires, and unafraid to get bloody--rarely pretend to be virtuous. Readers will likely enjoy the intricacies of the mythmaking, and ultimately be left pondering the price of survival in this rewarding and original read, first in a planned trilogy. --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger, and children's book author.

June's Book of the Month--June Moon

June’s Book of the Month is my own recently released board book, JUNE MOON, beautifully illustrated by Nate Carvalho and published by Familius. Since I wrote it—and am a bit shy about summarizing it myself—here’s what the publisher says:

Rising moon, shining moon, magic as a June moon.

In a story of seasides and summertimes, the rising and setting of the moon mirrors a child’s imaginative play and bedtime routine, all bathed in the natural magic of an evening in June. With gorgeous illustrations and seamless transitions between reality and the fantasy of a child’s view of the night sky, readers of all ages will reach for this lilting bedtime poem again and again.

I hope you’ll take a moment to find and support JUNE MOON, perhaps by buying a copy or requesting one from your local library, and sharing it with a young child!

--Lynn

Shelf Awareness--Under the Surface

YA Review: Under the Surface

Under the Surface by Diana Urban (Putnam Books for Young Readers, 368p., ages 12-up, 9780593625088, August 13, 2024)

Under the Surface is a well-executed, subterranean adventure-gone-wrong, with a satisfying romantic angle and enough drama to keep the narrative hurtling forward.

Seventeen-year-old Ruby is in Paris with her class, on "the best trip in the history of forever." With the help of close friends Sean (who makes Ruby's blood go "warm and tingly") and Val (lover of "daredevil antics"), Ruby is on the hunt for eye-popping locations to film for her YouTube channel. When Val sneaks off alone to a party suggested by a French "hottie," Ruby is worried something might happen to her best friend. Despite her "tangled mess" of blonde hair and "jet-lagged" bloodshot eyes, Ruby slips away to bring Val back. She's caught sneaking out, though, by valedictorian Olivia as well as salutatorian and bestie-turned-nemesis Selena, who get pulled into the unfolding misadventure.

The girls find Val and hottie Julien about to head off to a party in the catacombs, and Ruby can't resist capturing this little-seen locale for YouTube. Most of the place is off-limits to the public, but Julien swears he's a "cataphile" who knows his way around; the group heads down a secret entrance into the intricate web of tunnels that house "the skeletal remains of six million long-dead Parisians." Their guide leads them through dark and narrow passageways until they reach a shaft--a shortcut to the party, apparently. But the ladder breaks when Selena climbs down, and the others take a different route to reach her. When they finally arrive, the "only sign of Selena is her blood." The group gets lost as they head back aboveground for help, and are chased by phantom whisperings, booming drums, and mysterious people in skull masks wielding knives. Meanwhile, at street level, Sean has discovered Ruby and Val are missing and desperately chases down any lead he can find.

Diana Urban (These Deadly Games) has found in Paris's catacombs the perfect setting for a creepy thriller. She expertly amps up the tension as her characters become increasingly desperate, and her use of Ruby's and Sean's first-person narratives places readers inside the action both above and below the streets of Paris. The nightmarish adventure plays out against a backdrop of high school intrigue, including the (possibly) budding romance of Ruby and Sean, shifting loyalties, romantic mishaps, and betrayal. But despite their differences, characters must work together to save themselves, even as the stakes turn deadly. This well-rounded, gripping survival story has as many twists and turns as the catacombs themselves. --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger, and children's book author.