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THE LAST TRUE LOVE STORY

Readers will be swept up in Kiely’s musical prose as Teddy learns about love, romance, forgiveness, and reconciliation

Teddy, 17, makes a promise to his Alzheimer’s-stricken grandfather, Gpa, to bring him home from assisted living before he forgets Teddy’s deceased grandmother.

An evening on the beach listening to his talented friend Corrina, adopted from Guatemala, sing and play guitar gives Teddy a rash idea for the three of them (and Gpa’s aptly named dog, Old Humper) to drive from LA to Ithaca, New York. Although Teddy is the one telling the story, the three main characters and their individual needs for the road trip are equally well fleshed out. Corrina needs to get away from her adoptive parents and try to break into the music scene. She shares a love of ’60s rock with Gpa, creating a bond that helps keep his memories alive. Gpa, a Vietnam vet who has demons of his own to put to rest, is trying to hold onto his faculties against overwhelming odds. Teddy’s voice is humorous and sincere. He flirts with Corrina and remains optimistic that things will work out despite the obstacles they encounter. At a Mexican-themed restaurant, Teddy realizes how ignorant he is of the everyday racism that Corrina encounters: “It was like my whiteness just put pirate patches over my eyes and I was blind to all the pain.”

Readers will be swept up in Kiely’s musical prose as Teddy learns about love, romance, forgiveness, and reconciliation . (Fiction. 13-17)

Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-4814-2988-7

Page Count: 288

Publisher: McElderry

Review Posted Online: June 21, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016

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BEMUSED

A thrilling quest through real and metaphorical mazes, obstacles, and trials.

Five sisters learn they have hidden powers that might help them save their mother from danger.

Mnemosyne is the Goddess of Memory, a Titan who was granted asylum on Mount Olympus by Zeus after the Titan war. But Mnemosyne, who has bronze skin and black hair, eventually fled Olympus, wiping the gods’ memories so she could start her own family in safety. She created five daughters: gifted storyteller and leader Calliope, inquisitive history buff Clio, volatile empath Melpomene, magical dancer Terpsichore, and gifted comedian Thalia. Mnemosyne successfully keeps their existence hidden from the gods until the girls stage a public birthday performance for her. As Mnemosyne hurriedly explains the danger the girls are in, she’s kidnapped by Pain and Panic, two minions of Hades, God of the Underworld. The sisters must now put aside their differences to use their unique strengths and their mother’s special journal to ask the very gods their mother fears for help. A nice exploration of lesser-known female figures from Greek mythology, this tale features a fine balance of self-actualization and connections among the central characters, each of whom has a distinct temperament and narrative. The dramatis personae and pronunciation key will also make it easier for readers to distinguish the different cast members.

A thrilling quest through real and metaphorical mazes, obstacles, and trials. (Fantasy. 13-17)

Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025

ISBN: 9781368098700

Page Count: 352

Publisher: Disney Press

Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2024

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DRY

Mouths have never run so dry at the idea of thirst.

When a calamitous drought overtakes southern California, a group of teens must struggle to keep their lives and their humanity in this father-son collaboration.

When the Tap-Out hits and the state’s entire water supply runs dry, 16-year-old Alyssa Morrow and her little brother, Garrett, ration their Gatorade and try to be optimistic. That is, until their parents disappear, leaving them completely alone. Their neighbor Kelton McCracken was born into a survivalist family, but what use is that when it’s his family he has to survive? Kelton is determined to help Alyssa and Garrett, but with desperation comes danger, and he must lead them and two volatile new acquaintances on a perilous trek to safety and water. Occasionally interrupted by “snapshots” of perspectives outside the main plot, the narrative’s intensity steadily rises as self-interest turns deadly and friends turn on each other. No one does doom like Neal Shusterman (Thunderhead, 2018, etc.)—the breathtakingly jagged brink of apocalypse is only overshadowed by the sense that his dystopias lie just below the surface of readers’ fragile reality, a few thoughtless actions away. He and his debut novelist son have crafted a world of dark thirst and fiery desperation, which, despite the tendrils of hope that thread through the conclusion, feels alarmingly near to our future. There is an absence of racial markers, leaving characters’ identities open.

Mouths have never run so dry at the idea of thirst. (Thriller. 13-17)

Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-4814-8196-0

Page Count: 400

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: July 16, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018

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