Cole’s tale is still an interesting one, but the series can’t take too much more romantic push and pull.
This first sequel to the reincarnation story Transcendence (2012) starts slowly but builds up.
At first, Cole and her heartthrob Griffon act as though they’re characters in a standard romance novel. As the plot progresses however, events from Cole’s past life in 16th-century England begin to intrude on her blossoming romance. Drew, a 20-year-old Australian who already has built an enormous fortune, claims to be Cole’s husband from that previous life, the one in which the two pledged eternal love. When he learns of Drew’s identity, Griffon instantly cuts off his relationship with Cole. Here the story speeds up. Drew introduces Cole into a new society of reincarnated beings, all wealthy but with few scruples. He offers her an easy life that she finds difficult to resist. Meanwhile, she continues trying to recover from the injury to her arm that has cut short her cello career and giving cello lessons. Readers may need a chart to keep track of all the new terms introduced to describe the reincarnated characters. In addition to Akhet and Sekhem, there are now Iawi, Khered and a few other Egyptian-derived terms. While expanding Cole’s romance possibilities, Omololu introduces another mystery: What does Veronique, Cole’s nemesis from the first installment, intend to do with a secret formula she’s developed? Thus is the next sequel set up nicely even as Cole’s romantic choices resolve.
Cole’s tale is still an interesting one, but the series can’t take too much more romantic push and pull. (Paranormal suspense. 12 & up)Pub Date: June 11, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-8027-2371-0
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Walker
Review Posted Online: March 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2013
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
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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