The Song That Moves the Sun

July 4, 2022
Bright (The Boundless) takes inspiration from Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, reimagining the lives of Alighieri, Beatrice Portinari, and Marco Polo in a mesmerizing portal fantasy. Aurora Sonder and her best friend Claudia Portinari, both white and 17, struggle to manage their increasingly tumultuous personal lives amid sudden, inexplicable societal calamities, such as mountains sinking into the earth and sinkholes devouring small towns. As Rora navigates undiagnosed PTSD following an incident and Claudia is separated from her twin brother, the pair take solace in music. Soon, they meet white Major and Middle Eastern-cued Amir al-Kindi, both 18, who hail from settlements on Mercury and Mars, respectively, and claim that there is discord among the celestial spheres. Believing Rora can remedy the disruption, the boys implore the girls to traverse the universe, via interdimensional portal, to help them save the heavens. Chapters detailing Alighieri, Portinari, and Polo’s discovery of the portals and settlement upon the spheres, set in 1287, is woven throughout, adding context and intrigue to Rora and company’s quest. Bright employs poetic prose and a complex magic system to deliver a wildly inventive fantasy adventure. Ages 14–up. Agent: Elana Roth Parker, Laura Dail Literary.

July 1, 2022

Gr 8 Up-Bright's standalone contemporary space fantasy takes readers to the stars. Six weeks ago, everything changed for Rora and Claudia-and not for the better. So when they meet two boys who hail from concealed cities on other planets who promise Rora is the key to making everything better, that she can amplify the song that will heal the solar system, they suspend their disbelief and follow them. But the more they learn, the more Rora, Claudia, Major, and Amir realize that finding the reason for the disruption in each planet's song will be as difficult-and as important-as finding the solution. The book alternates between Rora's and Claudia's first-person perspectives. Interstitial chapters focusing on the journeys of Dante Alighieri, Beatrice Portinari, and Marco Polo expand the worldbuilding while also urging readers to figure out exactly what has gone wrong in the solar system. The worldbuilding is deep enough to be enjoyable but not so complex as to trip readers up. The romantic subplots add to complex interpersonal relationships at the heart of this novel. Rora's experiences with depression, anxiety, and PTSD may hit a little too close to home for some readers; Bright also lists content warnings for mentions of suicide, disordered eating, and infertility, in addition to content that may be triggering for readers with emetophobia. VERDICT A solid pick for libraries whose readers who enjoy light fantasy and romance.-Ness Shortley

Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2022
Astrology and magic combine in this otherworldly fantasy. At a concert, best friends Claudia and Rora meet Amir and Major, two boys who are searching for a song that will rectify disharmony in the universe. Despite some skepticism, Claudia and Rora are inclined to believe them: Recently there's been troubling natural phenomena worldwide, Claudia's misbehaving twin brother was shipped off to live with their physicist grandmother in Italy, and Rora was mugged and now suffers from debilitating anxiety. Major and Amir say they come from Mercury and Mars--although they are human, not alien--and they believe Rora is an amplifier, someone who can increase the power of music. She can help them, and they can help her as well. Alternating chapters feature the girls' first-person perspectives as they travel through portals from Washington, D.C., to different planets, searching for a solution to the imbalance. Though most characters are entertaining enough, short yet tedious chapters set in the 13th century and following Dante Alighieri, Beatrice Portinari, and Marco Polo, who discover the portals and establish settlements on various planets, are interspersed and drag the story down. The story's magical elements fizzle, and as the planets' settlements are barely distinguishable from Earth in technology and culture, the worldbuilding never quite comes together. Claudia, Rora, and Major are White; Muslim Amir is cued as being of Middle Eastern descent. The stars don't quite align for this one. (author's note, resources) (Fantasy. 14-18)

COPYRIGHT(2022) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.