A fantasy/SF yarn that provocatively explores the role of unchecked hubris in ecological catastrophe.
In Winter’s YA fantasy novel, human mages colonize a sentient planet of dragons.
Sixteen-year-old twin brothers Lando and Jaq find themselves on opposite ends of the planet Dragon Scarp, a world “capable of revenge.” Lando, a prestigious magic wielder, lives in Dragonhold, where he trains under a king who cruelly binds seven dragons in captivity. In contrast, Jaq, who was kidnapped as a child, works as a “glean,” or slave, on a merchant airship. When Lando witnesses a “culling,” the slaying of baby dragons, he redefines his goals. No longer desiring to become a dragon master, he becomes the guardian of a dragonling named Damsel instead, requiring him to flee Dragonhold. (“He had enslaved himself to this infant queen, and no dragon or person would persuade him he was wrong.”) Meanwhile, hoping to find Lando, the lower-class Jaq surreptitiously replaces his brother on Dragonhold. Readers learn that humans colonized this delicate planetary ecosystem after destroying their own world, Earth. The planet itself fights back against their presence, harming humans and the native dragons alike. Unsurprisingly, the human ecological footprint is deeply tied to complex political interests, much as in our own world. “In their ignorance and arrogance, the settlers had waged war on the planet and its dragons,” Lando learns from a forgotten settlers’ log. Dragon Scarp, a sentient planet, works to eliminate human magic even as the humans attempt to subdue dragon magic; as human magic wanes, political turmoil erupts. Winter deftly combines elements of SF and fantasy in this stirring allegory, holding up a mirror to the evils that exist in our own commercial and political landscapes, where human greed thrives. While the prose is sometimes overly explanatory, the complex narrative invites comparisons to Dune (1965), and the plot is a fun nod to The Prince and the Pauper (1881). The worldbuilding is solid, and the morals of the tale emerge naturally and organically, never feeling preachy or didactic.
A fantasy/SF yarn that provocatively explores the role of unchecked hubris in ecological catastrophe.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: yesterday
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, romantic visit to the iconic Disney Fairies world.
The Pixie Dust Root is in danger, and one fairy is determined to save it—and the Pixie Dust Tree that all of Pixie Hollow depends upon.
In this stand-alone story set in the same world as Allison Saft’s Wings of Starlight (2025), Periwinkle, a frost-talent who has a gift for finding things—or maybe they have a way of finding her?—discovers a lost thread of magic that grants her the ability to dream. But not all dreams are as sparkly as Periwinkle. One night, she awakens from a nightmare to find herself in the Winter Woods with a fairy she’s never met, a sparrow man named Weaver, who claims to be a rare dream-talent. Disconcertingly, Weaver knows her—he calls her “perfect Periwinkle” and for some reason doesn’t seem to like her very much. Nevertheless, Periwinkle finds herself drawn to Weaver. When he tells her he can save the Pixie Dust Root by spinning her dreams into thread if she helps him find the magic tools he needs, Periwinkle agrees. Their journey leads the pair, who are pale-skinned, to discover things they like about each other, too. This is an opposites-attract adventure with romantic tension, a high-stakes quest, personal discovery, and betrayal. The characters struggle with inner turmoil while also adjusting their understanding of each other. Bright balances the fun with explorations of themes of snap judgments, labels, and weaponizing fear.
A sweet, romantic visit to the iconic Disney Fairies world. (Fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2026
ISBN: 9780736447362
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Disney/Random House
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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