A sweet and hopeful story of queer love and brujo magic.
An accessible and witchy romantic adventure told in verse.
Alejandro Zamora’s brujería is the ability to see the past. Lately he’s been particularly fixated on bygone times—ever since his boyfriend dumped him after cheating on him. Trying to avoid more pain, Ale vows not to fall in love again, but even focusing his energy on his classes at Borderland High, a magical school in Texas, seems difficult when mysterious events start happening. Ale’s deck of brujo cards is only supposed to contain 40 cards, but people keep finding extras with his initials on them. A giant cicada with murderous intent breaks into school, and then, to top it all off, there might be someone watching him. At least Ale can still count on his dad and his friend Zander Avaloz to be by his side as his emotional state worsens and he feels lower and lower. But a brujo who looks just like him starts wreaking havoc with Cold Magic—a sinister, forbidden type of magic that “freezes / your heart / alive”—and the situation worsens as everyone except for Zander believes Ale is responsible. The poems are laid out within a gorgeous interior design that resembles tarot cards and at times takes the form of text threads. This exciting story about believing in love again, set in an intriguing and magical world, seamlessly weaves Spanish into the reluctant reader–friendly text.
A sweet and hopeful story of queer love and brujo magic. (glossary) (Verse paranormal. 12-18)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781978597358
Page Count: 200
Publisher: West 44 Books
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.
Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868138
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
A fun, twisty mystery with deep undertones.
At a school for both human and paranormal teens, a human starts displaying clairvoyant abilities.
Cam and his best friend, Al, are finally at the same school again for sophomore year. Despite his mom’s disapproval of Cam’s interest in all things paranormal, Cam’s loyalty to Al, who’s a brown-skinned nonbinary witch, is steadfast. Cam also has a crush on werewolf Mateo, who’s cued Latine. But when Cam, who presents white, has a terrifying vision of a stabbed woman, he’s no longer a human on the periphery of paranormal society—he’s the first clairvoyant in the area in a century. Suddenly, a local psychic guild and a coven are courting him like he’s a star athlete choosing a college. As Cam explores the possibilities, he befriends members of each organization in a sweet chosen family arc. But can his friends help him figure out the details from his first vision and prevent a murder? In this universe, queerness is accepted without question. Instead, anti-paranormality acts as a metaphor for homophobia, manifesting as forced outing, systemic oppression of paranormal people, and even conversion therapy. The novel also explores the problematic nature of stereotyping by humans, who label werewolves aggressive, sprites mean-spirited, psychics detached, and witches immoral.
A fun, twisty mystery with deep undertones. (Paranormal mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: April 29, 2025
ISBN: 9781665950947
Page Count: 368
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
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