The author builds a shimmering narrative puzzle in this inventive fantasy saga.
Two daring teens learn that their home is built on a lie in this YA fantasy sequel.
Tavarian Deralawn lives in Rethia, a mountaintop society separated from the lower world of Rootcore by clouds and perilous heights. In Rethia, resources are strained and jobs are portioned carefully to ensure that life remains in balance. Tavarian’s best friend and crush is Lirah. Their relationship might blossom if Lirah didn’t insist on being friends with the arrogant and unpopular Dexius Strongwood. Tavarian is further challenged when he’s cut from wood- and metalworking classes in school, two trades that fire his creativity. Another path to fulfillment lies in becoming a Descender. Descenders are chosen to leave Rethia for Rootcore in search of valuable rokenstones. These stones absorb lightning and can be used to power machinery that will improve life in Rethia. But nobody has ever returned with rokenstones. When Tavarian becomes one of the seven Descenders chosen this year, he’s determined to return and win Lirah’s heart. Unfortunately, Dexius is also selected. As the mission begins, disaster strikes. Rootcore isn’t the beautifully exotic realm Tavarian envisioned. His new situation is bleak, and Rootcore’s people are duplicitous. Soon, he enters a life of unexpected drudgery. Can his optimism and mechanical skills redeem the journey? Cox’s sequel uses clever framing chapters to connect the numerous realms of his Bewilderness series. Once again, the narrative is a gift to agile readers who delight in piecing together both the immediate story and the overarching one. Vibrant characters, like the alluring thief Malidora, are key to Tavarian’s evolution in an emotionally complex landscape. When the two face an insidious force that uses people’s inner darkness against them, she’s unaffected, she says, because “I know myself.” In the final third, the hero learns hard truths about Rethia that expose the cost of supposed utopias. Dexius and the taciturn character Darby travel superb arcs that explore the processing of grief and trauma. The dazzling finale and twisty fallout should have fans holding their breath until the next installment.
The author builds a shimmering narrative puzzle in this inventive fantasy saga.Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2022
ISBN: 9798986636818
Page Count: 312
Publisher: Silvettica
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
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