| $@%&! level: Medium-High “Bedroom” level: Medium-Low (lots of kissing & some partial nudity) Violence level: Medium-Low (lots of gunfire, but no one dies) Back Cover: “Maggie knows there's something off about Val, her mom's new husband. It's not only that he's from Oldworld, where they still use magic, and won't have any tech in his office-shed behind the house. But what are the huge, horrible, jagged, jumpy shadows that follow him around? And why is her dog not bothered by them? Newworld is all about science—you're expected to give up fairy tales as soon as you're old enough to read them for yourself—and magic is illegal. In Newworld the magic-carrying gene was disabled two generations ago—mostly. Maggie's best friend Jill has some foresight, and Maggie's great-grandmother was a notable magician. But that was a long time ago. Then Maggie meets Casimir, the most beautiful boy she's ever seen. He's from Oldworld too—and he's heard of Maggie's stepfather, and has a guess about Val's shadows. Maggie doesn't want to know...until events force her to depend on Val and his shadows. And perhaps on her own heritage.” |
I'm going to try really hard to not give any spoilers in this review, because half of the fun was in the surprises. Sadly, that doesn't leave a whole lot to review, but I'll do my best. I can start off by saying that I enjoy the names of the countries. It isn't just Newworld and Oldworld, oh no. There's also Midworld, Farworld, and some Southworlds, and it's great how easily they translate into the real places without ever once mentioning the name of any real country or region, except Japan. (I think they're regions, actually, with separate countries. I think.) I also really liked the use of Japanese culture, with the origami folding and the constant use of Japanese language. Maggie admits that's she's probably mispronouncing it, of course, and being a teenager she sometimes uses it for swearing when she doesn't want to get in trouble, but she also seems to really appreciate it's beauty as a language. Some people have a greater appreciation for the way a word sounds, the way it feels in the mouth as it is pronounced, and Maggie seems to have that.
I'm being deliberately vague about most of the story, but I'll tell you it's a full-on adventure, magic versus technology, and I found it exciting when it wasn't full of suspense. It's got a lot of pertinent themes as well, especially with ideas like security versus freedom and invasion of privacy. And the overall power that the government can wield when it's citizens are trained to not think about certain subjects, and certainly not to act for themselves. Also, what happens when people are “just following orders.” Basically, Newworld is heading for a meltdown pretty darn quick, and all the insisting on the way the world should work is not going to stop it.
There's only one thing I don't quite get. It seems strange that Maggie's mom can't figure out that her daughter isn't just being normal teenage resentful of the new husband. She's actually downright terrified of the man, and her mom just never quite picks up on it. You'd think she'd notice.
Seriously, though, you really need to read this one. Like, now.