A transportive, thrillingly queer adventure.
Sixteen-year-old Joe Garbe leaves the family farm, finding trouble and romance in Chicago during the Great Depression.
Arriving by train, Joe meets his cousin, Bernie, at the station and is instantly enamored by the sights and sounds of the city. Thanks to Bernie, Joe lands a job in the kitchen of the Lago Vista hotel, where he now meets Eddie Zambriskie. Their chemistry is palpable from the start, and they start dating. Meanwhile, Joe’s desperate need to settle his family’s debts back home in Kickapoo gets him involved in an underhanded scheme: His role is to take a French conversation class with wealthy people who will be sailing to Europe on vacation and gather information about his classmates’ names and travel dates so that Bernie’s criminal confederates can burgle their homes while they’re away. This ruse is complicated by Joe’s love affair with Raymond Kenrick, one of his marks, who introduces him to kissing, so-called pansy parlors, and sex. The emotionally nuanced characters, most of whom are presumed White, navigate stages of guilt, paranoia, and remorse as they swindle as a means of survival—with tragically beautiful results. Through passionate, cinematic scenes, Klise poignantly captures the fears and joys of being gay in this polished work of historical fiction.
A transportive, thrillingly queer adventure. (author’s note) (Historical fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-61620-858-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Algonquin
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A thrilling, climactic storm with an abrupt conclusion.
In this much-anticipated trilogy closer following 2019’s Children of Virtue and Vengeance, an enemy from a land across the sea carries out conquests to fulfill a prophecy that threatens the entire world.
The war between the maji and the crown of Orïsha ends when the Skulls, a tribe of masked, pale-skinned invaders, interrupt the pivotal battle, abducting Zélie, Tzain, Amari, Inan, and dozens of maji from their homeland. Caged on a ship and cut off from their magic, they have no choice but to set aside their bitterness and distrust to fight for their freedom. Ruthless and empowered by the volatile magic of bloodmetal weapons, the Skulls hunt for Zélie, “a girl with the blood of the sun,” at the command of their king, Baldyr, who prepares for his ascension to godhood during the Blood Moon. As much as she longs to return home, visions and an intertwined fate pull Zélie, along with her companions, to the land of New Gaīa in search of a girl with russet-brown skin and eyes that glitter like diamonds. United goals, fresh conflict, and impending doom provide invigorating gusts of momentum that push the story out of the doldrums of the previous book. On its own, this installment is a suspenseful and compelling expansion of the world, but as a series finale, the conflict seems disconnected from the first two books, and the resolution feels rushed.
A thrilling, climactic storm with an abrupt conclusion. (guide to clans) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: June 25, 2024
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
