Readers unfamiliar with the series will quickly track down the first volume, while the rest will be hounding Kahaney for the...
Anthem Fleet, the ballerina-turned-superhero, is back in this sequel, performing fewer pliés and more kickbox moves.
After sustaining a near-fatal accident while fighting the Syndicate in The Brokenhearted (2013), Anthem was bestowed with a mechanical heart that gave her superhero powers. Now she faces a new threat. Invisible is the Robin Hood–like leader of a movement that threatens death and apocalyptic events to the wealthy residents of the North Side of Bedlam if they don’t give half their wealth to the poor. They are well-organized, vicious and so tech-savvy that they manage to temporarily cut off all electricity to the wealthy—except for their televisions, which now broadcast the group’s threats and propaganda. Meanwhile, Anthem’s fallen for Ford, a tough but kindhearted boxer who was nearly killed by Anthem’s ex-boyfriend. As the mysteries of Invisible unfold, questions about her own family multiply. This second book offers a much richer, closer-to-the-bone emotional depth than the series opener, along with an interwoven back story that will leave readers gobsmacked. Kahaney’s description is so detailed readers will easily slip into this futuristic world with its palpably sordid creepiness.
Readers unfamiliar with the series will quickly track down the first volume, while the rest will be hounding Kahaney for the next one. (Science fiction. 13 & up)Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-06-223192-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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