Cast’s fans should find much to be pleased with in this new venture.
The lives of three disparate young people collide in this post-apocalyptic fantasy.
Eighteen-year-old Mari should succeed her mother as the healer of the matriarchal Earth Walkers but for her father’s blood that also courses through her veins, a secret that the blonde, pale-skinned girl and her dark-skinned mother go to great lengths to conceal. Twenty-three-year-old blond, pale-skinned Nik, who hails from a rival people known for enslaving Mari’s, should become Sun Priest of the Tribe when his father retires, but he has yet to be chosen as a Companion by a canine. Dead Eye, a 21-year-old mutant Skin Stealer, is a rebel, a self-proclaimed God with gruesome vision for the future of his people. In this series kickoff, Cast weaves together the stories of Mari, Nik, and Dead Eye, offering readers a new fantasy world steeped in magic that’s grounded by a hodgepodge of tropes ranging from Greek mythology to New Age mysticism. The intersection of Mari’s and Nik’s stories dominates the hefty novel. Readers will enjoy watching these two characters, who share a palpable chemistry, come into their own. Dead Eye’s story is far more disturbing, portending a darkness that will become more prevalent in future installments. While Cast is a bit heavy-handed spelling it out for readers, at its core this is a story about embracing and finding strength in difference. Though skin is vital to the story, modern racial categories do not seem to exist.
Cast’s fans should find much to be pleased with in this new venture. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-250-10072-6
Page Count: 608
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016
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
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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