School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up-Mabry crafts a strong romantic arc set at The Real Marvelous, a maguey ranch rumored to be cursed in the magically realistic Southwest Texas desert. Sarah Jacqueline Crow and James Holt end up at the strange farm following a violent dust storm, and Sarah's involvement in the accidental death of a maguey foreman elsewhere. Considered outlaws, the two perilously hide their identities and their passionate relationship, and with "hard hearts," labor long hours to earn and steal their way to a hopeful future. James has the quick ability to win card games and the affections of unsuspecting women, which Sarah begrudgingly encourages as their ticket out of poverty. But will these "cousins" go too far at The Real Marvelous-James with the rich landowner's sickly daughter and Sarah with the spoiled younger sister? This first-person narrative draws readers into Sarah's memories and her passionate nature, which are her strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, the gritty lure of the harsh desert with its secrets and broken dreams is described in rich prose. This sophomore novel presents a fierce new world with high stakes, where complicated romantic relationships among various characters linger beyond the end of the book. VERDICT An excellent choice for all YA shelves.-Ruth Quiroa, National Louis University, Lisle, IL © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Posing as cousins, Sarah and James hide their true feelings to survive among the itinerant jimadors cutting maguey in New Mexico. An accident forces them to flee to a Texas ranch called the Real Marvelous, but their usual con job starts to backfire, as if the ghosts of their past are finally catching up to them. A vein of superstition courses through the tale, cut with stark realities, raw descriptions, and plenty of grit. Mabry (A Fierce and Subtle Poison) doesn't revel in the brutality and blood spilled, nor does she shy from their place in the reality of ranch life. The depth of Sarah's despair as she is broken by the desert and the weight of her losses-her dead sister and James's love, among them-is palpable in her narration, peeling back layers of her story through memories that shape her character and explain her relationships and reactions. But an abrupt twist of fate in the final pages leads too easily to a nearly happy ending, robbing the story of some of its magnitude. Ages 14-up. Agent: Claire Anderson-Wheeler, Regal Hoffmann & Associates. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
In a post-apocalyptic Southwest United States, lovers Sarah Jac and James are on the run after a farming accident is mistaken for murder. Pretending to be cousins, the pair hopes to find refuge on a supposedly cursed Texas ranch. At once lyrical and gritty, this magical-realism-flavored dystopian novel loses momentum once the central romance fizzles. (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
In a dangerous, post-apocalyptic America, Sarah Jac and her boyfriend, James, keep their relationship a secret as they work at a mysterious farm. After environmental collapse, the western half of North America is desert. Seventeen-year-old Sarah Jacqueline Crow, aka "Sarah Jac" (who's mixed-race), and fellow orphan James Holt (who's white) specialize in picking the maguey plant for violent overseers and profit-hungry ranch owners whose harvests turn into pulque, mescal, and tequila. After a fatal accident during a dust storm, Sarah Jac is accused of murder, and the two stow away on a train that leads them to the Real Marvelous, a ranch in Texas that's rumored to be cursed. To protect themselves, Sarah Jac and James pretend to be cousins, fearing that if they're open about their love, they'll expose themselves to blackmail or worse. Soon, Sarah Jac is commanded to provide equestrian lessons to the owner's younger daughter, Bell, while James is commissioned to work in the big house as a groundskeeperand ends up catching the eye of Bell's sickly but beautiful older sister, Farrah. A complicated series of plagues, prophecies, and love triangles ensues. The author's prose is rich and lyrical, but the worldbuilding is lacking, leaving readers wondering about details rather than immersed in the story. In a reverse of most romantic story arcs, the love story goes from initially swoonworthy to deeply unsatisfying. Mabry's mix of magical realism and dystopia doesn't live up to its promising start. (Science fiction. 14-17) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Lakes have dried up, the earth is dying, and Sarah Jac and James flee southwest, leaving behind a gritty Chicago to harvest maguey in the desert. Surrounded by other transient workers, they hoard their money, hiding their love and scamming other workers while they dream of a different future. After an accident forces them to flee, the two find themselves working at the Real Marvelous, a ranch that's rumored to be cursed. The owner of the ranch has two daughters, and Sarah Jac, who knows her way around a horse, is asked to give the youngest, timid and angry Bell, riding lessons. At the same time, James catches the eye of the eldest, fierce and beautiful Farrah, ill with a mysterious, terminal disease. As Sarah Jac and James are inexorably drawn into this family and their secrets, strange and magical things begin to happen at the Real Marvelous things no con in the world can overcome, things that even their love may not be able to withstand. In aching, luminous prose, Mabry (A Fierce and Subtle Poison, 2016) crafts a story impossible to forget, infused with southwestern folklore and magical realism. The harsh desert is exquisitely, painfully rendered, and the characters are flawed and wholly real. A gripping, fablelike story of a love ferocious enough to destroy and a world prepared to burn with it.--Reagan, Maggie Copyright 2017 Booklist
