A fast-paced thriller for readers who can’t get enough of cool superpowers and impressive baddies.
In Bloss’ YA novel, a teenage boy discovers his hidden power to transform into animal form—an ability that others share and that some would like to use for evil.
Sixteen-year-old James Blade lives an ordinary life with his mother in Timberwood, California. Despite the mysterious disappearance of his father 10 years ago, James is a typical high schooler who loves hanging out with his best friend Danny and is crushing on Katie, the daughter of the police detective who tried (and failed) to locate James’s dad. But everything changes when James arrives home from school one day to find a trio of hooded figures holding his mother at knifepoint and demanding that he give them “The Codex.” From there, James is whisked into a mystifying world in which it’s revealed that he’s part of a group of people who have “Instincts,” animal forms they can transform into at will—and so was his father. James can’t fully control his Instinct, however, until he conquers a spiritual trial called “the Reckoning” (which he hilariously keeps misnaming “The Rednecking”). Holed up at a safe house with others who share his gift, James learns that the hooded figures were in fact brainwashed members of a group known as “the Blood Pact.” They take orders from their leader “Lifeblood,” who wants to find the Codex that will allow them to identify anyone with an Instinct. Now James must train for battle and master his animal form in order to prevent the Codex from falling into the wrong hands—and maybe find out what really happened to his father all those years ago. With Danny and Katie by his side, he’ll have to enlist help from some surprising sources to succeed.
While the novel is certainly geared toward a YA audience—complete with all of the coming-of-age drama that having a 16-year-old protagonist entails—readers should be aware that there are some moments of graphic violence and harsh language. Bloss largely keeps the narrative and dialogue moving at a brisk pace, despite an apparent fondness for onomatopoeias that occasionally threatens to veer the action into comic-book territory: “At the base, the bracelets expand and twist into the palms of my closed hands. They form into handles, conforming perfectly to my grip. Suddenly, piercing knives shoot out of the bottom of my fist with a shing and curve into what look like fangs.” James himself is an immensely likeable protagonist, one whose shock at discovering his abilities feels endearingly believable (“Not that I’m complaining or anything, but how the hell am I alive?”). He must also cope with the fact that some of his fellow classmates are actively being brainwashed into the Blood Pact, which adds a compelling moral dilemma into the mix. The story concludes on a major cliffhanger that, while not likely to truly shock most readers, sets things up nicely for the next entry in the series. Bloss adroitly examines themes of friendship, family, and the hidden strength that lies within everyone, neatly wrapping it all up in a fun and adrenaline-fueled adventure.
A fast-paced thriller for readers who can’t get enough of cool superpowers and impressive baddies.Pub Date: Nov. 6, 2021
ISBN: 9798761048751
Page Count: 427
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Feb. 19, 2025
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
A thoughtful and thrilling story of life, death, and meaning.
Two teens train to be society-sanctioned killers in an otherwise immortal world.
On post-mortal Earth, humans live long (if not particularly passionate) lives without fear of disease, aging, or accidents. Operating independently of the governing AI (called the Thunderhead since it evolved from the cloud), scythes rely on 10 commandments, quotas, and their own moral codes to glean the population. After challenging Hon. Scythe Faraday, 16-year-olds Rowan Damisch and Citra Terranova reluctantly become his apprentices. Subjected to killcraft training, exposed to numerous executions, and discouraged from becoming allies or lovers, the two find themselves engaged in a fatal competition but equally determined to fight corruption and cruelty. The vivid and often violent action unfolds slowly, anchored in complex worldbuilding and propelled by political machinations and existential musings. Scythes’ journal entries accompany Rowan’s and Citra’s dual and dueling narratives, revealing both personal struggles and societal problems. The futuristic post–2042 MidMerican world is both dystopia and utopia, free of fear, unexpected death, and blatant racism—multiracial main characters discuss their diverse ethnic percentages rather than purity—but also lacking creativity, emotion, and purpose. Elegant and elegiac, brooding but imbued with gallows humor, Shusterman’s dark tale thrusts realistic, likable teens into a surreal situation and raises deep philosophic questions.
A thoughtful and thrilling story of life, death, and meaning. (Science fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4424-7242-6
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 25, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016
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