A diverting fantasy novel that champions camaraderie and acceptance.
In Fliederbaum’s YA debut, a teen girl and a dragon forge an unlikely friendship in a world where their species are enemies.
In an Earth-like world (in which medieval fantasy elements co-exist with modern technology), Ellen Delacroix finds a strange silver ring in her room and tries it on. After a few twists of the ring around her finger, she inadvertently finds herself in the Wildlands, well outside the domed Safe Zone where she and her fellow humans live. Like all of her kind, she fears dragons; luckily, the one she runs into is a warmhearted creature, named Shard. He offers to teach Ellen magic after her attempt to defend herself makes it obvious that she’s “magically impaired.” Plus, Shard could use a friend, as his twin brother, Keeper, who considers Shard weak, regularly beats him. Ellen and Shard must stay mum about their training sessions, as humans and dragons share a mutual hatred based on events in both the past and present. Their arrangement won’t stay a secret for long, with Shard’s uncle (the dragon chieftain Inferno and the Safe Zone installing new security cameras. The dual protagonists shine brightly and match well; each one has trouble entirely trusting the other and has suffered a family tragedy. The story bravely tackles topical issues including bigotry and suicidal ideation. Some of the themes are a bit heavy-handed in the execution, as when Shard proclaims, “I act all confident and snarky, but that’s just to hide how much I hate myself!” But there is a myriad of absorbing subplots and mysteries to keep things moving—where did that ring come from, and who’s the “woman in the black cloak” periodically showing up in the narrative? Several of these questions go unanswered; the author surely has a sequel in the wings.
A diverting fantasy novel that champions camaraderie and acceptance.Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2023
ISBN: 9781959804192
Page Count: 324
Publisher: Water Dragon Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2023
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
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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