A blunt, effective record of the refugee crisis that’s wounding the Americas.
Fleeing from violence at home, 13-year-old Manuelito braves the journey through Mexico to the United States.
As the repercussions of war fade away, Manuelito’s Guatemalan village returns to normality. School resumes (even though Manuelito finds it tedious), and he finds plenty of time to play with friends, including Coco Loco. Suddenly, a new kind of war commences. Menacing, armed groups begin to disrupt village life: the PACs (Armed Civil Patrol); the maras, gangs of tattooed men; and government soldiers. To avoid gang recruitment or death, Manuelito’s parents send him off to Tía Adela, who resides in the U.S. Joined by Coco Loco, Manuelito arrives in Mexico following a river crossing only to fall prey to the Coyote. Setbacks bombard the young boy, but he eventually crosses the Río Bravo into the U.S., where he surrenders himself to Border Patrol as an asylum seeker. Just as Manuelito begins anew in the U.S., the arrival of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement derails his life yet again. An undercurrent of tragic inevitability in the text lends urgency to Manuelito’s narration, which delineates the circumstances of his escape without wallowing in sentimentality. The author’s preference for universal appeal posits Manuelito as a symbol of child refugees; as a result, the novel loses that extra spark that would make this story more memorable. Meanwhile, the stark, colorless illustrations hint at grueling ordeals.
A blunt, effective record of the refugee crisis that’s wounding the Americas. (afterword) (Graphic novel. 12-15)Pub Date: April 9, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-77321-266-1
Page Count: 104
Publisher: Annick Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel,...
Adventure drags our heroine all over the map of fantasyland while giving her the opportunity to use her smarts.
Elisa—Princess Lucero-Elisa de Riqueza of Orovalle—has been chosen for Service since the day she was born, when a beam of holy light put a Godstone in her navel. She's a devout reader of holy books and is well-versed in the military strategy text Belleza Guerra, but she has been kept in ignorance of world affairs. With no warning, this fat, self-loathing princess is married off to a distant king and is embroiled in political and spiritual intrigue. War is coming, and perhaps only Elisa's Godstone—and knowledge from the Belleza Guerra—can save them. Elisa uses her untried strategic knowledge to always-good effect. With a character so smart that she doesn't have much to learn, body size is stereotypically substituted for character development. Elisa’s "mountainous" body shrivels away when she spends a month on forced march eating rat, and thus she is a better person. Still, it's wonderfully refreshing to see a heroine using her brain to win a war rather than strapping on a sword and charging into battle.
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel, reminiscent of Naomi Kritzer's Fires of the Faithful (2002), keeps this entry fresh. (Fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-202648-4
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
This is no didactic near-future warning of present evils, but a cinematic adventure featuring endearing, compelling heroes
A gripping thriller in dystopic future Los Angeles.
Fifteen-year-olds June and Day live completely different lives in the glorious Republic. June is rich and brilliant, the only candidate ever to get a perfect score in the Trials, and is destined for a glowing career in the military. She looks forward to the day when she can join up and fight the Republic’s treacherous enemies east of the Dakotas. Day, on the other hand, is an anonymous street rat, a slum child who failed his own Trial. He's also the Republic's most wanted criminal, prone to stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. When tragedies strike both their families, the two brilliant teens are thrown into direct opposition. In alternating first-person narratives, Day and June experience coming-of-age adventures in the midst of spying, theft and daredevil combat. Their voices are distinct and richly drawn, from Day’s self-deprecating affection for others to June's Holmesian attention to detail. All the flavor of a post-apocalyptic setting—plagues, class warfare, maniacal soldiers—escalates to greater complexity while leaving space for further worldbuilding in the sequel.
This is no didactic near-future warning of present evils, but a cinematic adventure featuring endearing, compelling heroes . (Science fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25675-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: April 8, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
BOOK TO SCREEN
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