A winner for all kids, but it will be especially beloved by Latinx and Hispanic families who may recognize some of the...
He’s not the “chosen one”—but the bad guys think he is.
Mexican-born, American-raised Charlie Hernández just grew horns. And feathers. It’s inconvenient. He’s already feeling alone since his parents disappeared after their South Florida house burned down and he started living with Mrs. Wilson, an older woman who collects creepy-looking dolls. When the very cute, very cool Violet Rey discovers his secret, she becomes his unlikely companion as Charlie discovers a map inside an old locket, all he has left from his mother, that leads to a cemetery. All of a sudden, all the Hispanic (both Latin American and Iberian) myths he learned from his abuela leave the world of legend and reveal themselves in Miami—and everyone, good and bad, seems to be after Charlie. Legend and Catholicism mix to form a fantasy adventure that feels authentically Latin American in its syncretism. Charlie is smart, sensitive, and funny, and the characters he encounters, from La Llorona (Mexican-American) to El Sombrerón (Guatemalan) to La Cuca (Brazilian), are both consistent with their folkloric roots and distinctive in their own rights. Words in Spanish are introduced in italics and printed in Roman text thereafter, and Charlie naturally code switches when talking to the villains and heroes and translating for Violet. (Though her surname indicates possible Latinx heritage, she presents white and speaks no Spanish.) The ending very obviously hints at a sequel with a new adventure, but it does fully wrap up the story.
A winner for all kids, but it will be especially beloved by Latinx and Hispanic families who may recognize some of the characters. (glossary) (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 23, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-2658-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.
Chainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.
Every four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Gradually—too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic—it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. At this point, readers are likely to feel suddenly left behind, as, thanks to summary deus ex machina resolutions, everything turns out swell(ish).
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic. (Fantasy. 11-13)Pub Date: May 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-210489-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
Not as strong as the series opener, but the space battles galore will satisfy returning fans.
Lunar Jones and Dread the dragon rally the Dread Knights to defend Mars from attack by Triton, the dragon from Neptune’s largest moon.
About a year has passed since 14-year-old Lunar Jones became a dragoon and bonded with Dread, the planetary dragon of Mars. In this second series entry, Mars is now productive and again accepting Earthers as settlers, while Lunar adjusts to being in a leadership role, despite being younger than most of those he commands and “responsible for protecting all of Mars.” Proctor (strategy), Doc (programming), Little Will (lead scout), and Mara (who’s nicknamed “Wildcard”) reprise their crucial roles, while the story is fleshed out with other familiar faces, a batch of new recruits, and dragoons and dragons from throughout the solar system. Upon the approach of unknown vessels into Mars’ atmosphere, Lunar and Dread recall uncomfortable rumors about hostility from Neptune’s dragons, and the battles begin. Lunar narrates most chapters; occasional sections are told from Proctor’s point of view. A whiff of romantic attraction doesn’t impede the nonstop action, and the epilogue points to more entries to come. The dragon backstory holds together, although several innovations that appear at just the right time and support healing or offer battle advantages feel like overly easy solutions. Most humans present white.
Not as strong as the series opener, but the space battles galore will satisfy returning fans. (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781665946544
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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