Vibrant backdrops and stellar characters animate a worthwhile SF romp.
An Earth-born Martian teen travels through space and time to save his home planet in DeLaurentis’ debut YA novel.
Fifteen-year-old Thomas Knight lives on the Mars Station, a strictly controlled interior city on the Red Planet in the late 21st century. He learns all he can about Earth, the “origin planet,” which superfloods rendered uninhabitable a couple of decades earlier. His Earth obsession could lead to trouble—Martian inhabitants are confined to the Station, and attempts at escape are dealt with harshly. One day, Thomas meets a stranger who makes the startling claim that Thomas is not like his genetically engineered peers—he was the very last child born on Earth (“With a real mother and father? How could that possibly be?”). His birth father, whom he’s never known, has worked with others to implement a plan for Thomas to salvage their devastated world. It entails time-traveling into both the past and the future, but Thomas doesn’t exactly land where he was meant to. Arriving in 2023 Marin County, California, he meets a fellow teenager, Elly McAllister, who can tell him even more about the planet that has long enchanted him. DeLaurentis depicts a visually rich SF setting including the Station’s interior of overlapping circles and the children’s diet of geometric foodstuffs (like freeze-dried triangular tomatoes). The scenes set on Earth are equally engaging as Thomas spots so many peculiar things that Elly must explain to him, from a dartboard to a roller coaster. The relatively small cast shines, including Thomas, who easily adapts to changing circumstances; the ever-helpful and easygoing Elly; and Eno, Thomas’ smaller “counterpart” (the boys room together on the Station), who’s brilliant and loyal. Wherever he goes, the young hero faces obstacles, such as Mars’ sub-zero temperatures, megalodons on Earth, and bullies that, sadly, exist on both worlds. While this book delivers a satisfying, well-rounded adventure, it’s also the first installment in a proposed trilogy—Thomas’ interplanetary, time-hopping journey is just starting.
Vibrant backdrops and stellar characters animate a worthwhile SF romp.Pub Date: April 9, 2024
ISBN: 9781644283998
Page Count: 280
Publisher: Rare Bird Books
Review Posted Online: May 2, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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 heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
