Landry Park

November 18, 2013
Hagen’s debut has ambitious goals—forecasting a world reliant on nuclear power, commenting on social oppression, and delivering a romance filled with longing—but falls a little short. Madeline Landry, 17, is heir to the vast Landry Park estate in Kansas City, built by a revered ancestor, Jacob, who invented the “Cherenkov lantern” that now powers the world. A member of the privileged gentry, Madeline is subject to frequent teas, formal debuts, and a constant stream of suitors. Her father is a powerful figure whose main goal is keeping the lower-class Rootless under his thumb. Madeline resists all suitors until she meets dashing David Dana, who flirts shamelessly but escorts Madeline’s archrival to her debut. When Madeline isn’t suffocating in taffeta, she appears destined to become a courageous champion of the underclass, though she makes little progress in this trilogy opener. Despite the claim that the “boundaries of race and gender and religion fell away” in the establishment of this technologically advanced society, it’s unclear why attitudes toward women have regressed to mirror that of the 19th century. Ages 12–up. Agent: Mollie Glick, Foundry Literary + Media.