An engrossing, emotionally resonant spin on the old adage: Be careful what you wish for.
Reeling from the death of her boyfriend, a girl enlists the help of a hekamist to forget him just as other spells taken by those closest to her reveal their true, unforgiving costs.
When Ari visits the hekamist who lives behind her high school, she’s well-aware this won’t be the first spell she’s ever taken. When she was a little girl, her parents were killed in a fire, and her wrist still aches as a side effect of the trauma-erasing spell she took then. The death of Win, her boyfriend, drives her back without regard to the compounded consequences of taking on multiple spells. Through the alternating voices of Ari, Win, and their friends Kay and Markos, readers see a dense knot of intertwining spells—cast knowingly on some and unknowingly on others—slowly unraveling. And as the hekamist’s daughter relates, spells protect themselves. They don’t want to be broken. As the magic reveals its true power, each character charts remarkably complex courses in painful growth. Perspectives propelled by angst and obsession, like those of Kay and Markos, can drag, but the stories of Ari and Win shine in their depth. Though he’s absent, Win’s journey resonates, and the mark he leaves is felt long after the final page.
An engrossing, emotionally resonant spin on the old adage: Be careful what you wish for. (Urban fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: May 12, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-232074-2
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015
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
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
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