Whiffs of the paranormal and Southern Gothic traditions imbue this mystery, and the ending has genuine emotional resonance...
A small Southern town harbors a haunted swamp that has the power to steal people and memories.
Sterling and her brother, Phin, are best friends. They survived their alcoholic father, and now—father gone, mother remarried—they remain close, although Sterling fears Phin’s imminent departure for college. When an argument results in Phin’s storming off into the avoid-at-all-costs swamp, Sterling worries. Then her sister comes traipsing home, and only Sterling knows that the sibling who stormed off was a brother; for everyone else, Lenora May has always been there. Sterling’s journey to recover Phin leads to adventure and new connections and leaves her face to face with the power at the heart of the swamp. Parker has a nice touch with the Southern flavor of Sterling’s Louisiana town, steeped in superstition and silence, still racist and old-boy governed (Sterling’s black stepfather is respected but clearly not accepted). Some details rise above: The mysterious Shine, Lenora May’s love for life and Sterling’s best friend Candy all leap off the page. Other details—geography, back story and especially second best friend Abigail—clearly exist for plot propulsion, but the mosquito hum of tension and the rising romance and danger all keep this afloat.
Whiffs of the paranormal and Southern Gothic traditions imbue this mystery, and the ending has genuine emotional resonance too: This engaging debut should enjoy a wide audience. (Fantasy. 12 & up)Pub Date: Oct. 21, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-06-224152-8
Page Count: 336
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Aug. 5, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
Crowd-pleasing fun laced with political fire: a winner.
Bestselling author Faizal returns to the universe of We Hunt the Flame (2019) with a stand-alone duology opener.
Orphaned Arthie, brown-skinned with mauve hair, has created a criminal empire out of sheer pluck despite being Ceylani in Ettenia, where laws favor white people. She pulled legendary pistol Calibore from a stone plinth (though the prophecy that doing so would make her the nation’s leader turned out to be a hoax). She’s also built Spindrift, a teahouse-cum-bloodhouse, where she gathers secrets from wealthy humans and vampires, amassing power and security. Now Arthie has her sights set on vengeance—and the Ram, Ettenia’s masked monarch. When she and Jin, her brother-by-choice (who’s cued East Asian), are drawn into a heist, they assemble a diverse crew of immigrants whose roles riff on genre archetypes. The lush prose pulses with feeling as revelations are dropped and the tension ratchets up, keeping the pages turning as the motley gang plans to infiltrate a vampire society, retrieve a stolen ledger, and double-cross one of the Ram’s guards (who might be planning to double-cross them). Their ultimate goal: taking down the colonizing Ettenians and the exploitative East Jeevant Company. It’s all very exciting right up to the action-packed finale, which promises more conspiracy and (hopefully) justice to come. This compelling read offers interesting commentary on our society while feeling entirely real within the context of its own worldbuilding.
Crowd-pleasing fun laced with political fire: a winner. (map) (Fantasy. 13-18)Pub Date: Feb. 20, 2024
ISBN: 9780374389406
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2023
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