A fast-paced tale with richly drawn characters that revels in mythical worldbuilding.
A teenager is thrust into an otherworldly mystery when she stumbles upon a glowing gem in Messina’s YA SF novel.
When readers first meet Resa Stone, the 17-year-old is living with her parents and twin brother, Dakota, on the planet Wandelsta. Five years ago, aliens made contact with Earth and revealed the existence of 25 other planets harboring life. The aliens’ technology made interstellar travel possible, and Resa’s family became one of the few that were chosen to live on Wandelsta for six months as part of “a universal sociologic experiment.” Resa has had a recurring dream in which a mysterious girl named Nitika tells her, “You are the one”; one day on Wandelsta, she sees Nitika in her waking life, and Nitika leads her to a gem that she says will “fulfill [her] destiny.” The importance of this gem reveals itself in the legend of Gemja—a distant, utopian planet whose crystals once satisfied everyone’s every need until an evil force came and tempted different species to steal the crystals for themselves. Only when all the stones are found and activated by representatives of each planet will Gemja reappear. As Resa struggles with the meaning of the gem, and the revelation that she’s not even the first person in her family to find one, she must also contend with her burgeoning powers as a witch—she had a witch mentor back on Earth—and the attention of a mysterious violet-eyed boy. Over the course of this novel, Messina offers an absorbing story that’s peppered with haunting black-and-white illustrations by Pavliuk. It blends fantasy and SF elements, along with witchcraft and teenage romance, with a degree of skill that’s likely to satisfy fans of all these genres. The action never stops moving, whether Resa encounters a talking wolf in a forest or practices astral projection to save her grandmother. The plot will also encourage readers to consider big questions as well, such as whether the mind is truly limitless.
A fast-paced tale with richly drawn characters that revels in mythical worldbuilding.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 9781736723128
Page Count: 333
Publisher: Lunalore Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 2, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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