Vivid and well worth a look from new and returning fans alike.
Once more into the fray…but with pictures!
Readers are invited to revisit Panem, a fascist country “that rose up out of the ashes of a place that was once called North America” and is run by an elderly totalitarian dictator. The harmful, long-reaching influence of reality television is on full display in this excellent read that remains as relevant to modern audiences as when the novel was originally published in 2008. While Katniss Everdeen, the selfless and determined young hero from a region that’s strongly reminiscent of Appalachia, is the star of that world, the star of this edition is Delort, whose scratchboard art deftly imagines memorable scenes throughout the story while avoiding influences from the film series. These illustrations are new and wholly themselves, and the book’s large format shows them off to great advantage. The black-and-white art brings a hefty weight to the poverty and despair of District 12, the poorest sector of Panem, while at the same time capturing the affected excesses of the Capitol and its citizens. Delort’s talent is fully evident when capturing Katniss in her fire-tinged dress; readers will be able to feel the heat thanks to the dazzling interplay of positive and negative space. Fans of Barry Moser, take note: There’s a new tribute in town.
Vivid and well worth a look from new and returning fans alike. (Dystopian. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781339030609
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: yesterday
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
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