An exciting synthesis of dystopian, SF, and magical realist tales that will entertain young and adult readers alike.
Calderón de Fawaz’s debut YA novel follows a clever teenager and her family as they escape from an authoritarian United States in the midst of revolution to seek safety in Mexico, where they encounter a very different conflict.
In this future-set tale, Covid-19 is merely the first of several pandemics that resulted in political unrest as well as a return to herbology and Indigenous healing methods. When the Hesles family arrives in the small tourist town of El Nidal, Mexico, they find out their aunt, María Luisa, disappeared 10 months before and that local authorities have given up looking for her. Locals puzzlingly call her abode “the House on the Lake” despite the lack of any body of water nearby, as 15-year-oldBrum Hesles notes. However, it does have a marvelous library and a collection of artifacts, which Brum and her younger siblings, Tara and Rami, sort through. Soon, the kidsundertake an unexpected journey in another world, where they realize that it’s up to them to save their aunt—and keep multiple realms of existence from destruction. Over the course of the story, Calderón de Fawaz focuses mainly on Brum, and as a result, Tara and Rami become sidekicks with side plots. Overall, the author crafts a coming-of-age story rooted in family ancestry, skillfully interweaving reality and fantastical elements. The fictional world offers several imaginative creations, including a quirky forest sprite, a talking eagle, a shape-shifting jaguar, and a messenger butterfly. This novel is not only a celebration of Indigenous knowledge, Mayan and Aztec legends, and Mexican folklore, but also of matriarchs in general and Mother Earth in particular. It also effectively advocates for environmental justice, although some may be disappointed by its cliffhanger ending.
An exciting synthesis of dystopian, SF, and magical realist tales that will entertain young and adult readers alike.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 451
Publisher: Manuscript
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Despite some missteps, this will appeal to readers who enjoy a fresh and realistic teen voice.
A teenage, not-so-lonely loner endures the wilds of high school in Austin, Texas.
Norris Kaplan, the protagonist of Philippe’s debut novel, is a hypersweaty, uber-snarky black, Haitian, French-Canadian pushing to survive life in his new school. His professor mom’s new tenure-track job transplants Norris mid–school year, and his biting wit and sarcasm are exposed through his cataloging of his new world in a field guide–style burn book. He’s greeted in his new life by an assortment of acquaintances, Liam, who is white and struggling with depression; Maddie, a self-sacrificing white cheerleader with a heart of gold; and Aarti, his Indian-American love interest who offers connection. Norris’ ego, fueled by his insecurities, often gets in the way of meaningful character development. The scenes showcasing his emotional growth are too brief and, despite foreshadowing, the climax falls flat because he still gets incredible personal access to people he’s hurt. A scene where Norris is confronted by his mother for getting drunk and belligerent with a white cop is diluted by his refusal or inability to grasp the severity of the situation and the resultant minor consequences. The humor is spot-on, as is the representation of the black diaspora; the opportunity for broader conversations about other topics is there, however, the uneven buildup of detailed, meaningful exchanges and the glibness of Norris’ voice detract.
Despite some missteps, this will appeal to readers who enjoy a fresh and realistic teen voice. (Fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-282411-0
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
Characters to love, quips to snort at, insights to ponder: typical Spinelli.
For two teenagers, a small town’s annual cautionary ritual becomes both a life- and a death-changing experience.
On the second Wednesday in June, every eighth grader in Amber Springs, Pennsylvania, gets a black shirt, the name and picture of a teen killed the previous year through reckless behavior—and the silent treatment from everyone in town. Like many of his classmates, shy, self-conscious Robbie “Worm” Tarnauer has been looking forward to Dead Wed as a day for cutting loose rather than sober reflection…until he finds himself talking to a strange girl or, as she would have it, “spectral maiden,” only he can see or touch. Becca Finch is as surprised and confused as Worm, only remembering losing control of her car on an icy slope that past Christmas Eve. But being (or having been, anyway) a more outgoing sort, she sees their encounter as a sign that she’s got a mission. What follows, in a long conversational ramble through town and beyond, is a day at once ordinary yet rich in discovery and self-discovery—not just for Worm, but for Becca too, with a climactic twist that leaves both ready, or readier, for whatever may come next. Spinelli shines at setting a tongue-in-cheek tone for a tale with serious underpinnings, and as in Stargirl (2000), readers will be swept into the relationship that develops between this adolescent odd couple. Characters follow a White default.
Characters to love, quips to snort at, insights to ponder: typical Spinelli. (Fiction. 12-15)Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-30667-3
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
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