A captivating, heartfelt tale about family, diplomacy, and finding one’s place in the universe.
In Francisco’s debut novel, a teenager is tasked with mediating an interstellar conflict.
Sixteen-year-old Valeria “Val” Vega lives with her mother; her brothers, Miguel and Timoteo; and her uncle, Umberto Olmeda, a diplomat who’s often away traveling. When Umberto dies unexpectedly and mysteriously, Val and her family are plunged into grief. Then, Umberto’s colleagues Johnny, Wasala, and Pash-Ti, drop another bombshell. Umberto wasn’t an ordinary diplomat, they explain—he was Earth’s ambassador in an intergalactic council—and before he died, he’d named Val as his successor. Val soon finds herself in the middle of a centuries-old power struggle over the planet Hosh, involving three alien civilizations: the Levintis, the Etoscans, and the resident Hoshians. Val must act as a mediator in the new peace treaty discussions. However, the more Val learns about the conflict, the more she finds out about each party’s nefarious motives and tactics. She also learns that Umberto’s death was actually an assassination. Val desperately wants to help bring peace to the planets and solve her uncle’s murder—but she wonders if she’s capable of doing so. Francisco presents a thrilling coming-of-age SF story that not only explores the precariousness of colonialism and sectarian conflict, but also the complexities of identity and relationships. Val is a smart, resourceful, and highly empathic protagonist, and her arc as an intergalactic diplomat is compelling. However, it’s her scenes on Earth that make her so easy to root for, as when she acts as an English-to-Spanish translator for her mother while planning her uncle’s funeral and when she and her friend Des make up after a fight. Readers will enjoy the author’s sharp prose style and quippy dialogue, as well as the book's vast, imaginative worldbuilding, including high-tech gadgets and intricate extraterrestrial biology. The cast of human characters is also realistically diverse: Val and her family are Puerto Rican and speak Spanish at home; she identifies as “more sapiosexual than anything”; her crush, Will, is nonbinary; and Umberto is gay.
A captivating, heartfelt tale about family, diplomacy, and finding one’s place in the universe.Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2024
ISBN: 9798989270903
Page Count: 356
Publisher: Aventura Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations.
Magic, mystery, and love intertwine and invite in this newest take on the “enchanted circus” trope.
Sisters raised by their abusive father, a governor of a colonial backwater in a world vaguely reminiscent of the late 18th century, Scarlett and Donatella each long for something more. Scarlett, olive-skinned, dark of hair and attitude, longs for Caraval, the fabled, magical circus helmed by the possibly evil Master Legend Santos, while blonde, sunny Tella finds comfort in drink and the embraces of various men. A slightly awkward start, with inconsistencies of attitude and setting, rapidly smooths out when they, along with handsome “golden-brown” sailor Julian, flee to Caraval on the eve of Scarlett’s arranged marriage. Tella disappears, and Scarlett must navigate a nighttime world of magic to find her. Caraval delights the senses: beautiful and scary, described in luscious prose, this is a show readers will wish they could enter. Dresses can be purchased for secrets or days of life; clocks can become doors; bridges move: this is an inventive and original circus, laced with an edge of horror. A double love story, one sensual romance and the other sisterly loyalty, anchors the plot, but the real star here is Caraval and its secrets.
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-09525-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
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