A heartwarming tale of a superpowered high schooler with well-developed characters.
A teenage girl discovers the truth about her heritage in a YA SF story about the next stage in the evolution of humankind.
Sixteen-year-old Alexis Allerton is a teen with a passion for science; a crush on Everett Evans, a lab assistant at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she’s an intern; a loving family; and close friends in fellow high schoolers Hannah and Josh. Alexis has always been told that she has hemophilia, and has lived all her life with restrictions on physical activities. Alexis undergoes treatment every two days; a trio of doctors—Sam, Ira, and Kan Roman—visit her at home to treat her with injections of a clotting factor. But then, one day, she has a small accident at the lab, cuts her hand and sees her own blood for the first time. The first thing she discovers is that it’s silver, and she later finds out that its chemical composition is impossible in nature. It turns out that her doctors have been lying to her family; she doesn’t have hemophilia, but does have superhuman abilities, revealed over the course of the story. She also finds out that she’s adopted, and to find out her true origins, she embarks on a life-changing journey across the world with Everett and her sister, Amanda. Mir delivers a fun, engaging novel that offers an original take on genetic mutation and human evolution with elements of comedy, adventure, and romance. It even includes lots of cool, fictional scientific explanations of things such as “liquid crystal blood.” Alexis’ coming-of-age takes her from the United States to Mexico and Kazakhstan alongside supportive, fleshed-out secondary characters who enrich this story of self-discovery, identity, agency, and ultimately, hope. The novel is reminiscent of Becky Chambers’ brand of optimistic, warm SF that will appeal to teens and adults alike.
A heartwarming tale of a superpowered high schooler with well-developed characters.Pub Date: Oct. 9, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-953887-01-6
Page Count: 309
Publisher: Mir House
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A lushly written story with an intriguing heart.
After praying to a Fate for help, Evangeline discovers the dangerous world of magic.
When her father passes away, Evangeline is left with her cold stepmother and kind but distant stepsister, Marisol. Despite inheriting a steady trust in magic, belief in her late mother’s homeland of the mystical North (where fantastical creatures live), and philosophy of hope for the future, her dreams are dashed when Luc, her love, pledges to marry Marisol instead. Evangeline desperately prays to the Prince of Hearts, a dangerous and fickle Fate famed for his heart that is waiting to be revived by his one true love—and his potentially lethal kisses. The bargain they strike sends her on a dark and magical journey throughout the land. The writing style fluctuates from clever and original to overly verbose and often confusing in its jumble of senses. While the pervasive magic and concept of the Fates as a religious system add interest, other fantasy elements are haphazardly incorporated without enough time devoted to building a cohesive world. However, the themes of love, the power of story, family influence, and holding onto belief are well rounded and add depth. The plot contains welcome surprises, and the large cast piques curiosity; readers will wish more time was spent getting to know them. Evangeline has rose-gold hair and, like other main characters, reads as White; there is diversity among the fantasy races in this world.
A lushly written story with an intriguing heart. (map) (Fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-26839-6
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
Wrought with admirable skill—the emptiness and menace underlying this Utopia emerge step by inexorable step: a richly...
In a radical departure from her realistic fiction and comic chronicles of Anastasia, Lowry creates a chilling, tightly controlled future society where all controversy, pain, and choice have been expunged, each childhood year has its privileges and responsibilities, and family members are selected for compatibility.
As Jonas approaches the "Ceremony of Twelve," he wonders what his adult "Assignment" will be. Father, a "Nurturer," cares for "newchildren"; Mother works in the "Department of Justice"; but Jonas's admitted talents suggest no particular calling. In the event, he is named "Receiver," to replace an Elder with a unique function: holding the community's memories—painful, troubling, or prone to lead (like love) to disorder; the Elder ("The Giver") now begins to transfer these memories to Jonas. The process is deeply disturbing; for the first time, Jonas learns about ordinary things like color, the sun, snow, and mountains, as well as love, war, and death: the ceremony known as "release" is revealed to be murder. Horrified, Jonas plots escape to "Elsewhere," a step he believes will return the memories to all the people, but his timing is upset by a decision to release a newchild he has come to love. Ill-equipped, Jonas sets out with the baby on a desperate journey whose enigmatic conclusion resonates with allegory: Jonas may be a Christ figure, but the contrasts here with Christian symbols are also intriguing.
Wrought with admirable skill—the emptiness and menace underlying this Utopia emerge step by inexorable step: a richly provocative novel. (Fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: April 1, 1993
ISBN: 978-0-395-64566-6
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1993
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