Great fun with heart.
Princess Anya goes questing to fulfill a promise to her sister.
When Princess Anya’s stepstepfather, evil Duke Rikard, transforms her older sister’s latest love into a frog, the self-possessed white royal promises to transform him back. Alas, the Transmorgification Reversal Lip Balm is depleted in kissing the wrong frog, and Anya is forced on a dual quest to escape death by Duke Rikard and gather supplies for more balm. The third-person narration chronicles the high jinks that ensue as Anya sets off with her faithful talking canine companion, Ardent, and the transformed prince. Anya and company fall in with various intriguing characters: Bert (short for Roberta), the strong, capable, dark-skinned leader of the Association of Responsible Robbers (think Robin Hood), who challenges Anya to examine her princess privilege; the powerful and also dark-skinned and female Good Wizard; and the Wizard’s teacher, who’s both Merlin and Snow White (just one way Nix cleverly and hilariously turns fairy-tale tropes upside-down); as well as the Seven Dwarves. The characters are so enjoyable readers are sure to miss them when the quest (and book) ends. Refreshingly, there’s no romance plot here, and just as refreshingly, the two dark-skinned women are both beautiful and benevolent. Nix takes inspiration from classics and improves on them: he doesn’t fall into negative tropes and masterfully infuses the weight of first recognizing one’s privilege with humor.
Great fun with heart. (Fantasy. 10 & up)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-338-05208-4
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A magical story with a classic Disney feel exploring love, friendship, and leading amid hardship.
Shortly before the new queen’s coronation, a monster wreaks havoc, forcing a young fairy princess to intervene at her own risk.
In Pixie Hollow, the Never Fairies of Spring, Summer, and Autumn work to create seasons for the humans on the Mainland, while the fairies of Winter remain apart in the Winter Woods. Clarion, a governing-talent fairy who’s soon to take over as queen of Pixie Hollow, often looks wonderingly at the Winter Woods. But crossing the border is against the rules set forth by her mentor, Queen Elvina. When a monster from Winter breaks free and enters Spring, Clarion bristles at Elvina’s dismissal. Determined to be involved, she secretly travels to Winter, meets with Milori, the Warden of the Winter Woods, and learns that the land is nothing like what she’s heard, making her wonder what else the queen has been untruthful about. Together Milori and Clarion work to discover the secrets of Pixie Hollow, which may save them—or lead to death. Set in a magical place of flowers and pixie dust, this story considers the control we have over the roles we’re assigned. Clarion is a beautifully complex character—strong yet insecure, lovable due to her willingness to prioritize relationships over rules. Themes of fear, forbidden love, and good vs. evil are present in this fast-paced, engaging tale. Main characters are cued white.
A magical story with a classic Disney feel exploring love, friendship, and leading amid hardship. (Fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781368098458
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Disney Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
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
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