Here is a teenage version of the legendary star-crossed love between Tristan and Iseult. Caitlin Davies portrays Izzy, a white girl whose family has recently moved to Brooklyn, and Ryan Vincent Anderson portrays Trinidadian-American chess prodigy Tristan, whose guardian aunt has deep roots in the neighborhood. Their love is kindled when Izzy, an aspiring doctor, treats Tristan’s sprained ankle. Voices ringing with earnestness make the lyrical text sound natural. Despair mingles with tender tones as Tristan’s cousin Marcus, a small-time gangster, tries to woo Izzy. Enter Cynthia Farrell’s Brianna, a Latina with an accented voice and a searingly intense tone. When Brianna speaks, you know the wheels of fate are about to spin as her friendship with Izzy and love for Marcus collide. S.T.C. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

"Putting her own spin on the age-old story of star-crossed love, Shannon Dunlap's incredible first novel is a solid reminder as to why I continue to read and sell books on a daily basis. I challenge anyone out there to read the prologue of Izzy + Tristan and not fall head-over-heels for this lovely debut."—Javier Ramirez, The Book Table (Oak Park, IL)

"In this fresh retelling of Tristan and Iseult, Shannon Dunlap weaves a contemporary version that is just as intense, jarring, and full of romance as the original. There is an instant connection when Izzy moves to Tristan's neighborhood: the doctor girl and the chess boy-could anything be cuter? When Tristan's cousin comes into the picture and wants Izzy for himself, things get a little complicated. Both readers that are familiar with the 12th-century tale and those who aren't will be quick to enjoy it, although perhaps with a bad bout of butterflies."—Jen Pino, Vroman's Bookstore (Pasadena, CA)

"This debut breathes new life into the epic tale of Tristan and Iseult; instead of war, the game is chess. This modern tragedy romance is deadly serious in its execution, placing teens on the front lines of today's headlines. With rich prose and a backdrop that draws on racial tensions in America, this is a fierce, smart reimagining of a timeless love story."—Booklist

03/01/2019

Gr 9 Up—This modern retelling of Tristan and Isolde has all of the romance, tragedy, and melodrama of its source material. Izzy and Tristan cross paths and fall in love after her white family moves into his mostly black neighborhood in Brooklyn. Tristan is a quiet, sensitive chess whiz who has earned his standing in the neighborhood by playing and winning chess matches that his locally powerful bad boy cousin Marcus bets on. When Marcus sets his sights on Izzy, a chain of events is set in motion that cannot end well. And it doesn't. Race, class, gentrification, police violence, and mental illness are all handled in an up-front manner, though some of the conversations and conclusions drawn aren't delved into deeply enough. Izzy's brother's mental illness is a heavy subplot that never quite feels resolved. The story takes a left turn after the main plot is wrapped up, the romance fizzles, and the tragic, sensational ending may feel a bit tacked on to some. VERDICT A combination of a tale-as-old-as-time doomed romance and ripped-from-the-headlines action. A solid choice for medium-size collections.—Beth McIntyre, Madison Public Library, WI

Here is a teenage version of the legendary star-crossed love between Tristan and Iseult. Caitlin Davies portrays Izzy, a white girl whose family has recently moved to Brooklyn, and Ryan Vincent Anderson portrays Trinidadian-American chess prodigy Tristan, whose guardian aunt has deep roots in the neighborhood. Their love is kindled when Izzy, an aspiring doctor, treats Tristan’s sprained ankle. Voices ringing with earnestness make the lyrical text sound natural. Despair mingles with tender tones as Tristan’s cousin Marcus, a small-time gangster, tries to woo Izzy. Enter Cynthia Farrell’s Brianna, a Latina with an accented voice and a searingly intense tone. When Brianna speaks, you know the wheels of fate are about to spin as her friendship with Izzy and love for Marcus collide. S.T.C. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

2018-11-25

"Izzy" (short for Iseult), a white Irish-American aspiring future doctor, and Tristan, a Trinidadian-American chess prodigy, become caught up in a risky love polygon.

Izzy moves to Brooklyn from Manhattan and has to adjust to her new life and the increased distance she feels from her twin brother. Tristan plays chess in the park at the behest of his cousin, Marcus, who makes money from Tristan's wins. Hours before the two lovers meet, complicated events lead Marcus to ask Tristan to be his wingman as he woos Izzy. Later, Tristan and Izzy end up hiding their relationship from everyone—or trying to. The consequences of their deception are broken relationships and body parts. Tristan has to make some tough choices, finding that sometimes events are set in motion that we cannot control. Flowery language does nothing to hide an unbelievable romance, and some characters feel flat, seemingly introduced purely for foreshadowing and plot advancement. The topic of race in this interracial romance is not explored sufficiently, and a scene (and subsequent conversation between Tristan and his aunt) in which Izzy's brother threatens Tristan with a knife following a chess match resulting in the arrival of the police shows a lack of understanding of the experience of black families with law enforcement.

This updated version of the medieval classic disappoints. (Fiction. 14-18)