A skillful and engrossing time-travel adventure.
Andre’s liver transplant does more than save his life.
After a liver transplant six months ago, things are returning to normal, until one night Andre wakes up on his front lawn—in 1969. Andre doesn’t understand how he has been transported back in time, but he manages to stay calm thanks to Michael, then resident of his house. Michael—a free spirit and musician—is both inspiring and confusing to Andre, and the characters’ dynamics oppose each other well. Andre returns to 2021, where he gets a call from the mother of Dave, his deceased donor, who reveals that they are a family of time travelers and that the gift was passed on to him. Dave’s younger brother, Blake, is tasked with teaching Andre how to “jump” safely, and the more he time travels, the more he begins to question everything he thinks he knows about himself and his future. Strong pacing features Andre splitting his time between past and present-day Boston—and between Michael and Blake. All three boys are gay; Andre is Black, and Blake and Michael are White. In a novel with exciting representation of a gay Black teen where identity isn’t the issue, readers will appreciate the realistic nuance of Andre’s frankness when talking about the White privilege Blake and his family exhibit that makes them unable to see how different and potentially dangerous time traveling is for a 17-year-old Black boy.
A skillful and engrossing time-travel adventure. (Fantasy. 13-18)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4926-9434-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
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
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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