Despite intriguing themes, the delivery fizzles.
A teen uncovers dark truths behind his amazing home.
Barnabas Bopwright lives in the City with his mother and stepfather and goes to school with Deni Jiver, his girlfriend. Both are student journalists. After discovering a subway map with a mysterious, hidden Aqua Line, Barnabas mentions it during an interview with the mayor, turning his life upside down. Threatened by Mayor Tuppletaub and unsure whom to trust, Barnabas ends up traveling on the Aqua Line, taking a nightmarish ride outside the City to the mysterious Valley. There, he discovers the ugly truth beneath his utopian world: It’s kept running by Valley workers, and the natural environment is destroyed to provide fuel and supplies. When he uncovers a sinister plot against the City, Barnabas has to save his imperfect home. While the book’s pacing and mystery elements and the themes of adventure and friendship are gripping, Barnabas’ narration feels much younger than his 15 years, clashing with serious discussions of social inequity, environmental degradation, and consumerism. The depictions of distrustful—and untrustworthy—adults are heavy-handed, detracting from a potentially intriguing analysis of family and heritage. Conversations about religion, the importance of creativity, and the meaning of bravery add extra dimensions but are similarly simplified. Barnabas’ reflections on his sexuality provide a sweet, slow-burn awakening. Barnabas is assumed White; diversity in race and sexuality is present in the supporting cast, but at times these identities are framed in ways that feel othering.
Despite intriguing themes, the delivery fizzles. (Fantasy. 12-15)Pub Date: May 10, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-63679-152-4
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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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