Night Shine

July 15, 2020
A dark, sensuous riff on "Beauty and the Beast." The 100-year-old Sorceress Who Eats Girls has kidnapped the heir to the empire, and only Nothing, a 17-year-old girl who is the prince's faithful companion, and Sky, his male bodyguard and secret lover, can possibly save him. While this is mostly Nothing's story, Prince Kirin's genderfluidity drives the inciting element and continues to be an important thread throughout (although male pronouns are used exclusively for Kirin). Nothing is a mystery to herself and others, but the Sorceress--gorgeously terrifying and playing the Beast role, complete with frequent marriage proposals--seems to know something of Nothing's past. Threads of identity, choice, and power snake through this lush story, sometimes interrogated (the relationship between Nothing and Kirin), other times mired in sexual attraction (as with Nothing and the Sorceress). The dynamics of age and power differentials in the central sexual relationships are not explicitly addressed and may feel uncomfortable to some readers. The magic and the avalanche of physical details take center stage while the characters move through this cinematic sensory feast slightly out of focus, although Nothing and Sky appeal nevertheless. Many elements of the fantasy world feel inspired by ancient China without being overtly Asian. While race plays no explicit role, human characters are described with a range of skin tones from light to copper, with uniformly dark hair and eyes. Queer and lush--and appealing and flawed in equal measure. (Fantasy. 13-18)

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August 1, 2020

Gr 9 Up-A girl called Nothing, left as a baby on the palace steps, becomes Prince Kirin's best friend. But when the prince returns from a long trip, she realizes he's an imposter and must kill him. Nothing vows to find the real Kirin, who is gender-fluid and uses he/him pronouns, setting off with his beloved bodyguard Sky for Fifth Mountain, where a sorceress holds the prince captive. On the journey, Nothing discovers that she is not entirely human, and upon arrival the sorceress teaches Nothing that true love transcends form, whether demon or dragon or boy or girl. Nothing will have to fight through the ultimate of betrayals to find her true self, save her friends, and reunite with her love. Gratton has penned another marvelous tale. Dedicated to gender-fluid teens, this edgy, riveting fantasy of bone-deep love, acceptance, and betrayal will speak to all readers. What starts out as a classic heroic quest slowly evolves, then turns inside out and back again. Written in almost poetic language, both story and characters grow from earnest naivety to fascinating, sensual, and extraordinary. VERDICT Recommended for all fantasy lovers, and perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Holly Black, and Tomi Adeyemi.-Gretchen Crowley, formerly at Alexandria City P.L., VA

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2020
Grades 9-12 Prince Kirin, Heir to the Moon, has vanished, kidnapped by the sorceress of a distant mountain who has always taken the hearts of girls before. In the palace, a girl named Nothing, Kirin's most devoted friend, sets out with his bodyguard, called The Day the Sky Opened, to rescue him. Sky has a secret, and he believes it's why the Sorceress Who Eats Girls took Kirin; when Kirin and Sky traveled together, Kirin dressed and lived as Sky's wife. While Sky is determined to storm the mountain to get Kirin back, Nothing, who speaks with demons and has always seen what others miss, understands that there are bargains to be made?though the cost for Kirin's freedom may be higher, and reveal more, than she could yet understand. With delicious prose, Gratton crafts an extended fable that is deeply romantic on multiple levels. Queer readers, especially those who are nonbinary or gender-fluid, may see themselves in the pages of this fantasy, a genre that so often excludes them. A strange, dark gem.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)