Surreal, bizarre, yet ultimately comforting.
Two teenagers with disparate outlooks on life form a friendship that shakes up their lives as the world shakes up around them.
In economically depressed, rural Fog Harbor County, Washington, two high schools whose rivalry is said to go back as far as the early 1900s merge, much to the displeasure of both communities. But Billy Sloat, who is white and a loner at his own school, is excited for some changes that might finally put the Rome vs. Carthage rivalry to rest. Lydia Lemon, a half-Filipina, half-white student from Carthage, does not even like the people from her own town, so her views on the merger are dim. Though Billy’s eternal hopefulness clashes with Lydia’s darker outlook on life, they discover a unique kinship. Both have experienced parental loss and live in difficult circumstances—Billy lives with his ill-tempered grandmother and Lydia, in the apartment behind the bar her father runs—and over time, they open up and share intimate secrets with each other. As their lives come together, the outside world seems to fall apart, evidenced by an unlikely tornado and a fog that swallows up the town. Billy’s maltreatment by those he loves becomes exhausting, as does his unshakeable “happiness is gratitude” mentality amid all the chaos and negativity. But lessons in forgiveness, self-love, and embracing vulnerability redeem this seemingly apocalyptic story.
Surreal, bizarre, yet ultimately comforting. (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: July 9, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4814-8176-2
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 21, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
The well-paced romantic tension is a highlight of this enjoyable duology closer.
Even a war driven by gods can’t sever communication between journalist lovers Iris and Roman in this steampunk-adjacent romantic adventure.
A prologue sets the scene: Dacre, a god strummed to sleep by magic in Divine Rivals (2023), will not slumber forever. His willingness to wage war to acquire more powerful magic leads him to lay waste to entire towns, and Inkridden Tribune journalist Iris Winnow and war correspondent Roman Kitt can no longer be assured the other is safe—or even still alive. In Iris’ world of cigarette smoke, copper pipes, and driving goggles, colleagues affectionately call each other by their last names, watch each other’s backs, and face danger on the front lines. Though Underling Correspondent Roman is traveling with Dacre’s army, he questions why he was healed of his grievous wounds, while at the same time, he gradually recovers memories of Iris and recalls that she was special to him. Their magically connected typewriters allow for the rediscovery of their love and for communicating potentially deadly information about the invasion of Hawk Shire. The story primarily unfolds from Iris’ and Roman’s viewpoints, and while the prose occasionally uses well-worn phrases, Anglophiles will particularly enjoy the worldbuilding, and returning readers will welcome appearances from Capt. Keegan Torres; her wife, Marisol; and Dacre’s archnemesis—and wife—the goddess Enva. Main characters present white.
The well-paced romantic tension is a highlight of this enjoyable duology closer. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250857453
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
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
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