Reviews for All the wind in the world

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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.


Horn Book
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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.

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