Heart-pounding.
A gay, transgender brujo with burgeoning powers seeks answers about his cousin’s death.
Sixteen-year-old Yadriel also wishes for acknowledgement from his community but unexpectedly finds himself entangled in the unresolved wishes of a strong-willed, good-looking spirit. He descends from a long line of brujx who have been granted magic power by Lady Death to heal the living and to guide spirits into the afterlife. Although he’s grown up surrounded by a close-knit community, Yadriel feels alone, excluded indefinitely from a sacred rite of passage because he is transgender. When he senses that his cousin Miguel has died suddenly but the family can’t locate him, Yadriel sees an opportunity to prove to everyone he’s a true brujo by solving the mystery and releasing his cousin’s lost spirit. His plan quickly falls apart, as he accidentally summons the spirit of Julian Diaz, a boy with unfinished business who died the same day as Miguel. Both the romance and mystery burn slow and hot until the climax. Stakes begin high, and the intensity only increases with a looming deadline and a constant risk that Julian might lose himself, turning maligno. The cast of characters represents a diversity of Latinx identities sharing a community in East Los Angeles. Julian is Colombian while Yadriel is Cuban and Mexican. Their romance provides joyful, ground-breaking representation for gay, transgender boys.
Heart-pounding. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-25046-9
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Swoon Reads/Macmillan
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A celebration of Black teen love and the magic of possibility.
Six authors collaborate to create an interwoven story set during a blackout.
Unbearably hot temperatures in New York City cause a sudden blackout, simultaneously throwing plans into chaos and creating unexpected opportunities. Contributor Clayton, who is joined by YA superstars Jackson, Stone, Thomas, Woodfolk, and Yoon, was inspired by Covid-19 and the “metaphorical blackout” it has created for the world to initiate this project that embraces a wide spectrum of Blackness and sexuality. The characters’ final destination is a block party in Brooklyn with Jackson’s “The Long Walk,” a story about reconnecting exes told in five acts, serving as the overarching mechanism to connect the narratives. Stone and Woodfolk contribute queer love stories in “Mask Off” and “Made To Fit” respectively. Thomas’ “No Sleep ’Til Brooklyn” begins as a love triangle, progresses to a love quadrangle—and in the end is about self-love and discovery. Clayton’s story, “All the Great Love Stories…and Dust,” is set in the New York Public Library’s main branch and centers on best friends who may become something more. Yoon’s piece completes the novel with strangers finding love in a ride-share car in “Seymour and Grace.” Working together to deliver a fantastic mix of humor and romance, these authors offer something fun and lighthearted that is welcome during the continuing pandemic and that will bring joy long after it’s over.
A celebration of Black teen love and the magic of possibility. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 22, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-308809-2
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2021
BOOK TO SCREEN
SEEN & HEARD
Deeply romantic and utterly magical.
An aspiring alchemist and a talented sharpshooter team up to hunt an ancient beast.
When the hala appears each autumn, New Albion’s Halfmoon Hunt soon follows. Teams consisting of a marksman and an alchemist hunt the creature in pursuit of fame and fortune. Though the Katharist church condemns the hala as a demon, 17-year-old Margaret Welty has been taught by her Yu’adir father that it is a sacred creation of God. Legend even has it that the hala’s alchemized carcass could be forged into the philosopher’s stone. If Maggie wins the hunt and kills the hala, her alchemist mother, gone for months, may finally return home to stay. Weston Winters, son of Banvish-Sumic immigrants, has been fired from every apprenticeship he’s charmed his way into. Being taken on as Evelyn Welty’s student is his best chance at becoming an alchemist, but when he arrives at Welty Manor, Maggie immediately dislikes him. However, after they ultimately come to understand each other’s personal motives, they rely on one another to achieve their dreams. This atmospheric, emotionally driven story focuses on the slow-burn romance between two outcasts who yearn to belong and who face discrimination for their cultural and religious backgrounds. Characters are cued as White, and New Albion is reminiscent of early-20th-century America: the Banvish-Sumic, Katharist, and Yu’adir people read as fantasy-world corollaries of Irish Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish immigrants, respectively.
Deeply romantic and utterly magical. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: March 8, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-62365-2
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2022
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