Grisly, dark, and utterly entrancing.
A young alchemist uses unconventional practices to climb the social ladder.
Seventeen-year-old Fan Zilan, who is Hàn Chinese and Scotian, dreams of becoming a royal alchemist like those who discovered the immortality elixir made of gold. Orphaned in a small village in Guangzhou, Zilan works at Auntie So and Uncle Fan’s struggling store, where they make and sell míngqì—clay vessels for burials. She illegally performs life alchemy to resurrect the dead and bring in extra money. Zilan and her cousins finally get the chance for better lives by heading up north to the capital to take the all-important civil service exams. Competition is fierce, and, as someone poor and half-foreign, the odds are against her, but Zilan must succeed in order to provide for her family. She’s garnered a reputation in Chang’an for her resurrections, and Crown Prince Li Hong seeks out her services. Tangled up in royal secrets, dangerous politics, and monstrous alchemical experiments, fierce Zilan struggles and fights for her place. Set in an alternate Tang dynasty China, this dark historical fantasy presents an enchanting, immersive world in which the manipulation of elements knows no bounds. Centered around life and death, this fast-paced story is gory and gruesome but lightened by moments of levity. Baker touches on racism, sexism, classism, identity, and family and friendship ties. Contemporary Mandarin and Cantonese words are woven into this dark duology opener.
Grisly, dark, and utterly entrancing. (content note, historical note) (Historical fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2023
ISBN: 9781335458018
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Review Posted Online: July 31, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2023
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
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
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