Delights with characters defined by their actions not their superpowers.
Five teens with heightened senses and newly acquired fighting skills battle a formidable villain and his henchmen who have besieged an entire town in Smith’s energetic YA adventure debut.
Kinsu, Chase, Alex, Jordan, and Rhee are the stars of Danville Heights’ high school football team. But this doesn’t prepare them for what they find in the community’s nature preserve, which residents generally regard as off limits. Fresh off a regional championship, the boys trek through the forested area and encounter strange floating balls of light. Next thing they know, they awaken with amplified senses—Kinsu has sharp vision; Jordan, boosted hearing—and an instinctual connection to one another. They also have a newfound martial arts prowess, which they put to use in nearby Sandry Lake. The town has been overtaken by Druth, an evil, enigmatic being whose goons routinely steal from and assault citizens. The boys, however, will need help overthrowing Druth. This superhero story centers more on hero than super. Smith builds a solid foundation for the characters by first introducing the teens individually and highlighting their football game before they procure their powers. The boys don’t develop their martial arts, which is just another gift: “Somehow we’re good at it,” Chase points out to the others. Smith does knock out a few stellar action sequences, but the novel is more about why destiny has apparently tapped the five boys. Mysterious elements, meanwhile, ultimately emerge, including the identities of the Dark Stranger, acting as a guide for the boys’ fight against Druth, and the equally adept (and helpful) “girl”—though she’s in her late 30s. Smith’s approach limits the violence and seems to target a young-adult audience. But her writing is intelligent and often lyrical, like the description of various sounds Jordan hears as colors in motion. And while she tends to recap kicks and punches rather than specify maneuvers, her exuberant prose never fails to dazzle: “They vowed to kick butt without warning,” the narrative declares, “much to the dismay of the dreaded Druth.”
Delights with characters defined by their actions not their superpowers.Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-9894747-5-7
Page Count: 300
Publisher: Two Petals Publishing
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A swift fable about navigating the perils of middle school.
A bossy middle school fashionista feels threatened by the new girl in Saii’s YA novel.
Vanessa Pocker and her friends Chelsea, Adrienne and Katie are the richest of the rich in their Santa Monica, Calif., middle school, and they comprise the Sassy Divas. Vanessa leads the pack and dictates whom the divas are allowed to talk to, what they’re allowed to wear and how they conduct themselves in public. Vanessa is so domineering that it’s a miracle she has any friends at all. Had Saii endowed her with an ounce of kindness, the loyalty of her minions might be more understandable. Vanessa’s militant nature finally alienates Katie, the diva who is too much of a bookworm, according to Vanessa. Katie befriends Flo, who’s on the Sassy Diva “do not speak to” list (Flo had once refused to hold Vanessa’s purse). Excommunicated from the Sassy Divas, Katie befriends the new girl at the school, Quinn. This infuriates Vanessa, and she declares war. A power play ensues among the adversarial lip-glossed sets, with Vanessa, Chelsea and Adrienne on one side and Katie, Quinn and Flo on the other. Vanessa turns to guy friend Ryan, who offers the only voice of reason when he admonishes her for obsessing over trivialities, such as revenge and makeovers, when there are starving children in the world. He seems to be nothing more than Vanessa’s sounding board, and it’s unclear what he gets out of the relationship. At least Vanessa buys clothes and makeup for her divas, on occasion. Mired in trendy youngster lingo, Saii’s tale accurately depicts girls’ power plays and the alienation that can result from simply owning jeans without a designer label. Fashion, gossip, popularity and shopping define these characters, and any threat of competition is cause for war. Vanessa’s parents rarely make appearances, except for a poignant scene when Vanessa’s mother engages her daughter in a heart-to-heart about her selfish behavior. It’s a relief to finally hear the mother speak and lead the story to an ending marked with humor and depth. Saii’s literary chops are inconsistently displayed and improve toward the conclusion. Although the average middle school girl may not wear Jimmy Choos or form private elitist groups, young readers might find themselves curious about these affluent trendsetters. At least Vanessa learns her lesson, which raises the novel a notch above teenybopper fluff.
A swift fable about navigating the perils of middle school.Pub Date: March 1, 2013
ISBN: 9781937675080
Page Count: 155
Publisher: Lekha Publishers
Review Posted Online: March 4, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An intriguing, if not always emotionally engaging, story of a serious teen problem.
Somers’ debut young-adult novel follows a teenage boy from sickness to tenuous health as he battles an eating disorder and the problems that helped create it.
Nathan is a typical teen with typical problems, including an unhappy family life and romantic disappointment, but he’s got an unhealthy “solution” for dealing with them: starving and purging himself. His descent into bulimia and anorexia occurs quite quickly; it starts with Nathan taking short bike rides to get away from his domineering father and alcoholic mother, and soon he’s inducing vomiting; not long afterward, he’s admitted to an eating-disorder program, at which point the book seems to find its center. Nathan is the only boy in his unit, a fact that his status-obsessed parents find it hard to understand; in fact, as the book makes clear, boys make up 10 percent of those who suffer from eating disorders. Somers’ novel never falls into “after-school special” territory, but it has a clear message. Nathan is depicted as a smart, cynical teenager, but his trials are sometimes more informative than heart-wrenching. The short chapters, complete with bad teenage poetry, keep the story moving, and Nathan’s dad, mom and nurse all get at least one chance to tell their side of the story. But although these multiple points of view are interesting, they may distract readers from Nathan’s personal trials. Also, the novel sometimes gets bogged down in eating-disorder program protocol; for example, a plan to interrupt Nathan’s family therapy takes two pages of emails, rather than a line or two of dialogue.
An intriguing, if not always emotionally engaging, story of a serious teen problem.Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2012
ISBN: 978-0988367203
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Rundy Hill Press LLC
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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