A thought-provoking and spiritual dystopian quest.
Sabbas’ YA SF novel follows a group of large-eyed teens with special abilities.
In the near future, the skies are filled with toxic mist, democracy has been demolished, and most of the population has reverted to farming communities. Seventeen-year-old Samuel Helenis is being held in “the Facility,” where “everything in the labs [is] colorless, from the walls to our mandatory robes to the emotions of the ones who [test] us like rodents.” He has eyes twice as large as the average human’s and a mind that can “manipulate matter in ways not considered normal,” though this ability is not under his conscious control, even after 10 years of experimentation at the Facility. Samuel is in love with Evelyn Agartha, an orphan who lives near the Facility, but he can’t quite bring himself to admit it to her. Everything changes when a dozen black-robed, large-eyed children storm the Facility. They kill Samuel’s tutor in front of him and burn Evelyn’s village, claiming the actions are necessary parts of the current struggle. Samuel and Evelyn are not convinced and instead escape into the woods—the natural world, which they have never experienced before. After some misadventures, they encounter Luna, a psychic with telepathic powers who wants to lead them to a safe haven. Along the way, they learn more about the conflict between the government and the feared large-eyed children (“The military will want to hunt down everyone like us”). Throughout, Sabbas evocatively includes regular references to Alice in Wonderland and popular songs. The story has obvious affinities with the X-Mencomics and movies, but while many elements are derivative (and the final third can be a bit of a slog), some bright dream sequences and references to larger cosmic themes set the yarn a bit apart from standard dystopian kids-with-special-powers fare.
A thought-provoking and spiritual dystopian quest.Pub Date: June 25, 2024
ISBN: 9798888242704
Page Count: 412
Publisher: Koehler Books
Review Posted Online: May 8, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 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
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression.
After surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself.
Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself; her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out; her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply; and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. After spending time in treatment with other young women like her—who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves—Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she "like-likes" but who had pined for Ellis instead. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends. Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a "semifamous" local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. Through intense, diarylike chapters chronicling Charlie's journey, the author captures the brutal and heartbreaking way "girls who write their pain on their bodies" scar and mar themselves, either succumbing or surviving. Like most issue books, this is not an easy read, but it's poignant and transcendent as Charlie breaks more and more before piecing herself back together.
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-93471-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
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