An entertaining introduction to some gifted adolescent heroes who will easily win fans.
Four bright youngsters vow to upend a gang’s cyber-attack on their city in Dan and Danielle O’Connor’s YA caper.
A field trip to the Museum of Natural History in Seaside, Florida, offers a learning opportunity to an eighth-grade class. But for schoolmates and lifelong best friends Melvin “Wiki” Jones and Kayla, the museum is a site for geocaching—using GPS to find boxes that others have hidden. It’s also the place where Wiki, who’s known for his brains and observational skills, meets a stranger who asks him to test a company’s “educational software program.” This is a ruse; the Blackout, a covert group, has a sinister plan to steal a powerful Artificial General Intelligence from Wiki’s scientist father. Once they get their hands on the AGI, they reprogram it to do their nefarious bidding. The Blackout seizes control of computers and electronic devices across Seaside; citizens can either wait 45 days to get everything back or pay a Bitcoin ransom for early access. Wiki and his crew, including Kayla, her older sister, Olivia, and Wiki’s 10-year-old brother, Matthew, dig up what they can on the Blackout (courtesy of Wiki’s still-secure home computer). Finding them may be even easier than Wiki’s crew originally thought as yet another evil plan (swiping specific artifacts from the museum) is executed. With help from a military-grade quadcopter drone that Wiki built himself, the kids try to identify Blackout members, recover the stolen artifacts, and shut down the evil AGI, all while hopefully keeping themselves safe.
A lively cast headlines the O’Connors’ debut novel. Wiki’s crew engages in good-natured banter; Matthew, not fully comprehending some tech-laden discourse, suggests his brother is “talking Klingon.” In many other instances, the youngsters champion one another and offer words of encouragement. The Blackout-centric chapters showcase assorted codenamed baddies, including leader Osiris; Sphinx, who aspires to take over that position; and new recruit/intern Gary, who’s saddled with the nickname Pup-Pup. Younger readers will have no trouble understanding the relatively simple technology (such as a few details on hacking). The story offers educational value—the museum has exhibits on the Plains Indigenous tribes and the Dead Sea Scrolls—but no real mystery, as it’s obvious early on what the bad guys are plotting. Still, it’s a treat to follow these youthful characters as they use their wits and tenacity to take down the Blackout. They’re brave without repeatedly putting themselves in unnecessary danger, and they’re fiercely loyal, as when Kayla quickly responds when a bully thinks Wiki is an easy target. A late-in-the-story romance, while not surprising, is delightful and something that will hopefully evolve in subsequent installments. The ending makes it apparent which direction the next entry will likely take, and readers will surely yearn for more of Wiki, Kayla, Olivia, and Matthew. A series of colorful, cartoon-like, occasionally repetitive illustrations accompanies the text.
An entertaining introduction to some gifted adolescent heroes who will easily win fans.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2026
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
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression.
After surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself.
Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself; her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out; her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply; and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. After spending time in treatment with other young women like her—who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves—Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she "like-likes" but who had pined for Ellis instead. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends. Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a "semifamous" local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. Through intense, diarylike chapters chronicling Charlie's journey, the author captures the brutal and heartbreaking way "girls who write their pain on their bodies" scar and mar themselves, either succumbing or surviving. Like most issue books, this is not an easy read, but it's poignant and transcendent as Charlie breaks more and more before piecing herself back together.
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-93471-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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