A timeless and timely tale of one girl’s journey to save her family and discover herself.
Against the backdrop of revolution in northern Mexico, 12-year-old Petra Luna must undertake a hero’s journey.
The 1910 appearance of Halley’s comet, the citlalin popoca, is seen as a bad omen by many, but not Petra, a mestizo girl who believes in science and reason, not old superstitions. Omen or not, there are dark days ahead for Petra, as a military coup results in her father’s conscription, leaving her to provide for her family. Then the Federales return and destroy their village—but where is safe? Between the harsh environment and looming threats of violence, the only option left is to head north to los Estados Unidos and hope to cross the border. Along the way, Petra anchors herself in her aspirations for literacy and learning, bringing along the most treasured traditions of her ancestors and discarding those that no longer serve. The parallels between past and present government corruption and violence make this historical fiction that is as relevant as ever. Though the author drew inspiration from her own family stories from a century ago, the bones of the story could easily apply today. With its tight focus on Petra, the book does not address the broader historical context of the impact of U.S. involvement in Mesoamerican politics, but it may spark curiosity and encourage readers to explore this history on their own.
A timeless and timely tale of one girl’s journey to save her family and discover herself. (author's note, timeline) (Historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-72823-465-6
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Sourcebooks Young Readers
Review Posted Online: July 7, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A lyrical, heartfelt account of personal growth and endurance.
Bidania distills her family’s experiences as refugees into resonant historical fiction.
It’s 1975, and Gao Sheng lives “in a sunny mountain town” in Pao Kao, Laos, in a house with plenty of room for her extended family: nine adults and 11 kids. Eleven-year-old Gao Sheng silently, obediently helps with cooking, shopping, and child care: “This is what’s expected / of the oldest daughter.” When the communists take over, her father’s army service alongside Americans puts the family at risk, forcing them to flee. The scattered clan members endure separation, survive two Thai refugee camps, and start new lives in America. Gao Sheng is an insightful witness, keenly aware of her 8-year-old brother’s elevated status just because he’s male, while she’s overlooked: “My arms drop to my sides, / limp and wilted.” Despite disappointments, she’s steadfast in fulfilling her mature responsibilities. But when she finally refuses to keep quiet—“Today / I will be loud / I will show my strength”—her family sees and eventually acknowledges and proudly appreciates her. An epilogue describes Gao Sheng’s arrival in Wisconsin with her parents and siblings. The candid verse deftly grounds precious experiences in tangible reminders—peach seeds that Gao Sheng saves to plant “someday, / when the country is at peace,” and soft buns that taste “like sugar and happiness.” With inviting vulnerability, Bidania transforms her war-torn past into a rallying cry to “build empathy, curiosity, and awareness.”
A lyrical, heartfelt account of personal growth and endurance. (author’s note, photos) (Verse historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9780593697207
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
A lighter-than-air blend of knightly exploits and rib-tickling twists.
Princess Grace of Merryland needs rescuing again, forcing two young knights-in-training to face a series of challenges, from hungry cave sharks to a minotaur named Chad.
Actually, Princess Grace is perfectly capable of rescuing herself—again: see Once Upon a Tim (2022)—except that this time, kidnappers have stashed her in a room that’s locked and bolted on the outside…and in the middle of a maze billed, supposedly, as “the most complex and dastardly labyrinth in the world.” So it is that former peasants Tim and his more capable friend Bull—otherwise known as Belinda when she’s not disguised as a boy—plunge into a mess of dark and bewildering tunnels, armed with a ball of twine provided by the surprisingly sapient village idiot Ferkle, to face a series of deadly threats…though the most legendary of all turns out to be an amiable monster with the body of a bull and the head of, well, a dude. Throughout Gibbs’ lighthearted, laugh-out-loud tale, Curtis supplies proper notes of farce or stark terror as appropriate in flurries of line drawings that present most of the humans and the monsters with human features as White, though Belinda appears to present as Black. Along the way, Tim adds educational value to his narrative by flagging and then pausing to define vocabulary-building words like laborious and vexing.
A lighter-than-air blend of knightly exploits and rib-tickling twists. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5344-9928-7
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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