Rollicking, if somewhat over-the-top, fun.
Nothing can dim the light of the “Fabulous and Marvelous Kiki Siregar.”
Nothing except maybe the atmosphere at the super-conservative Xingfa School, which her parents have made her transfer to from more the progressive Mingyang High, where she “wasn’t even considered one of the more outspoken pupils.” Seventeen-year-old Jakarta resident Kiki is optimistic that she can shine at her new school if she stays true to herself. But in just the first few days at Xingfa, she’s patronized by Jonas Arifin, a popular, wealthy, and misogynistic classmate; goes viral on TikTok as #CrazyKiki in an embarrassing video in which she’s wearing her school uniform; and is admonished by the principal after standing up for herself against golden boy Jonas. Fortunately, Kiki finds solace in online gaming, most notably in Warfront Heroes, which she plays under the screen name Dudebro10 to avoid harassment from male gamers. She confides in Sourdawg, her “adorkable” online friend, about her school troubles—but later realizes that he’s actually her kind classmate Liam Ng, whom she does not want to lose as a friend (or possibly something more). From Kiki’s irrepressible self-confidence to Jonas’ seemingly delusional attraction to her, the story is a parody of gender disparities in a school setting that occasionally leans more into caricature. Readers may find Kiki to be a refreshing lead and the hijinks entertaining, although the teenspeak feels artificial at times. The cast is mainly Chinese Indonesian.
Rollicking, if somewhat over-the-top, fun. (Fiction. 12-17)Pub Date: Nov. 28, 2023
ISBN: 9780593434017
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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PERSPECTIVES
Dark, seductive, but over-the-top: Characters and book alike will enthrall those who choose to play.
Garber returns to the world of bestseller Caraval (2017), this time with the focus on younger, more daring sister Donatella.
Valenda, capital of the empire, is host to the second of Legend’s magical games in a single year, and while Scarlett doesn’t want to play again, blonde Tella is eager for a chance to prove herself. She is haunted by the memory of her death in the last game and by the cursed Deck of Destiny she used as a child which foretold her loveless future. Garber has changed many of the rules of her expanding world, which now appears to be infused with magic and evil Fates. Despite a weak plot and ultraviolet prose (“He tasted like exquisite nightmares and stolen dreams, like the wings of fallen angels, and bottles of fresh moonlight.”), this is a tour de force of imagination. Themes of love, betrayal, and the price of magic (and desire) swirl like Caraval’s enchantments, and Dante’s sensuous kisses will thrill readers as much as they do Tella. The convoluted machinations of the Prince of Hearts (one of the Fates), Legend, and even the empress serve as the impetus for Tella’s story and set up future volumes which promise to go bigger. With descriptions focusing primarily on clothing, characters’ ethnicities are often indeterminate.
Dark, seductive, but over-the-top: Characters and book alike will enthrall those who choose to play. (glossary) (Fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: May 29, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-250-09531-2
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A meditation on a timely subject that never forgets to put its characters and their stories first
An Afghani-Australian teen named Mina earns a scholarship to a prestigious private school and meets Michael, whose family opposes allowing Muslim refugees and immigrants into the country.
Dual points of view are presented in this moving and intelligent contemporary novel set in Australia. Eleventh-grader Mina is smart and self-possessed—her mother and stepfather (her biological father was murdered in Afghanistan) have moved their business and home across Sydney in order for her to attend Victoria College. She’s determined to excel there, even though being surrounded by such privilege is a culture shock for her. When she meets white Michael, the two are drawn to each other even though his close-knit, activist family espouses a political viewpoint that, though they insist it is merely pragmatic, is unquestionably Islamophobic. Tackling hard topics head-on, Abdel-Fattah explores them fully and with nuance. True-to-life dialogue and realistic teen social dynamics both deepen the tension and provide levity. While Mina and Michael’s attraction seems at first unlikely, the pair’s warmth wins out, and readers will be swept up in their love story and will come away with a clearer understanding of how bias permeates the lives of those targeted by it.
A meditation on a timely subject that never forgets to put its characters and their stories first . (Fiction. 12-17)Pub Date: May 9, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-338-11866-7
Page Count: 402
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 19, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PROFILES
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