  | Forgery of roses Author: Olson, Jessica S. | |
| Price: $24.48 | ||
Summary:
Myra has a gift many would kidnap, blackmail, and worse to control: she's a portrait artist whose paintings alter people's bodies. Guarding that secret is the only way to keep her younger sister safe now that their parents are gone. But one frigid night, the governor's wife discovers the truth and threatens to expose Myra if she does not complete a special portrait that would resurrect the governor's dead son.
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: UG Reading Level: 5.40 Points: 17.0 Quiz: 520336 |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (+) (01/01/22)
School Library Journal (+) (00/02/22)
Booklist (03/15/22)
Full Text Reviews:
School Library Journal - 02/01/2022 Gr 7 Up—Olson's newest offering is a satisfying dark fantasy of art, science, romance, and murder. Myra Whitlock is an art Prodigy like her mysteriously disappeared mother. In her world, Prodigies are an aberration to the Higher Power (called Artist), because of their ability to heal physical injury through the act of painting. Myra has been secretly called to bring the Governor's heir back to life by painting his portrait. She accepts the assignment for the money it will bring, which will pay for a doctor to diagnose her dying sister. Myra's inability to heal her sister reveals the intricacies of Prodigy magic: one can only fully heal another when the cause of the injury or illness is known. What follows is Myra's journey to find a murderer and a motive in the Governor's manor, and to fulfill her destiny. Olson weaves intense action and tender emotion in her multifaceted work. Descriptions of what a Prodigy feels when the magic overtakes them—experiencing everything the subject felt in injury/death—pierce with anatomical precision. Secondary characters such as pale red-haired August (the Governor's other son), the charismatic Forger, and Myra's spirited sister are as vibrant as the protagonist herself, allowing readers to hope for different outcomes throughout. The time period is perplexing, as there are carriages and corsets but also telephones and a hospital ICU, but it doesn't detract from the seamless storytelling and unexpected climax. Characters' race and ethnicity are not specified. VERDICT A triumphant second novel, Olson's not-to-be-missed tale of intrigue has something for everyone.—Jane Miller - Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
Booklist - 03/15/2022 At 18, Myra is a painter who has to care for her sister, Lucy, who has fallen ill. Their parents disappeared a year ago, and while no one has a clue as to where they went, Myra is certain her mother’s secret—that she was a Prodigy, a magical portrait artist—is the reason. Myra, too, is a Prodigy, and in Lalverton, a city run by a villainous governor with a vendetta against artists, she could be the next to vanish. When the governor’s wife blackmails Myra and contracts her for a magical painting, Myra has no choice but to comply. Can her magic raise the governor’s son from the dead? Or will she doom herself and Lucy to a terrible fate? This riff on The Picture of Dorian Gray is both fascinating and novel, and it will attract fantasy fans as well as the artistically inclined. Casual readers may need a glossary for some of the painting terms, like cadmium and phthalo blues. - Copyright 2022 Booklist.
