Tarot

December 1, 2018
Imprisoned in a tower, a wizard's daughter weaves magical pictorial tapestries.When the mere sight of the four wall hangings that pale, 16-year-old Anna has woven for the suspicious, controlling Hierophant King--who has kept her in a tower room since birth--results in a death warrant, she cuts out selected swatches and, with help from her friends the Fool, the Magician, and the Hermit, flees over a magical bridge. She finds herself in Cups, a colony of young, beautiful, olive-skinned lotus eaters. There, she connects with hunky James, and the tale drifts into a romantic round of beach parties, swimming lessons, snogging, relationship chess, stylized dialogue, and, ultimately, a shared (if, from all evidence, chaste) bed. Cued by sudden tempests and other signs, she eventually comes to realize that, one, she has herself created these lands and peoples with her weaving and, two, the Hierophant King will be coming after her. Using tarot more as a gimmick than a driver of events, Kennerson (The Family, 2014) seems so taken with the (far from original) notion of basing her settings and cast on suits and cards that she neglects to give anyone, even Anna, a distinctive voice or personality. She also devotes more energy to the mildly steamy "tropical island romance" subplot than the larger conflict--which she summarily and abruptly resolves.The cards predict a larger audience of romance than fantasy fans. (Romantic fantasy. 14-17)

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February 1, 2019

Gr 8 Up-Kennerson creates a believable fantasy world replete with a king whose methods of running his kingdom are questionable. Readers meet Anna, the king's daughter, who is almost 16 and has never stepped foot out of her tower-ever. The only people she sees are the Magician, the Fool, and the Hermit. She considers them her friends as they sit with her, bring her bland food, and allow her to weave tapestries. Anna imagines entire worlds as she weaves: people, animals, cities. With years of practice, she has become adept at weaving and with nothing to keep her mind from roaming-adept at stories. Her tapestries are beautiful-perhaps too much so. As her 16th birthday approaches, the king comes to visit. As the king views the tapestries for the first time, he is overwhelmed by the magical quality of them and stunned by the image of a moon (once a traitor who seduced his wife and was banished from the kingdom). He is annoyed that Anna has caused him so much trouble. Anna, worried she has somehow angered the man she thinks is her father, must unravel the truths the kingdom has hidden and find a way to survive them. Reminiscent of books by Tamora Pierce, with a strong female character who is coming into her own, this action-adventure fantasy will find many fans. VERDICT A must-have for fantasy lovers who enjoy a good romp through new worlds.-Cathleen Ash, Manor High School Library, TX

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