Familiar mythical creatures bolster this dark, ongoing adventure.
A Canadian teen works to stop malevolent extraterrestrials from taking over Earth in this YA sequel to Lee’s H.P. Lovecraft–inspired The Midnight Games(2016).
Hamilton, Ontario, is still reeling months after terrifying beasts tried passing through a wormhole and a mysterious airship blasted the threat back to its own realm. Nate Silva, determined to track down that airship, called Sorcerer, treks through Hamilton’s North End during a heavy snowstorm. He comes across a rusty warehouse, and after he enters it, he learns that he’s actually inside Sorcerer—and that it’s about to take flight. This amazing craft and its crew have traversed time and space in a long-running battle against the Great Old Ones, a group of creatures plotting to colonize Earth. But humankind’s next threat won’t come from the sky; it turns out that the evil Nyarlathotep is already here, deep in the Pacific Ocean, ready to rise to the surface. Soon, Nate teams up with his grandfather, whom he’s never met before. The 80-something man, decades ago, survived a harrowing encounter at sea with something diabolical, and he may be the only one who can find its “underwater grave.” Lee enhances his novel with references to the Lovecraft mythos, although these don’t monopolize the narrative. Menaces include winged, clawed beasts called thrals and a creepy Cthulhu-worshipping cult (a remnant of the series’ first installment). However, there are other elements that smoothly tie into real-world events, including World War II, and a surprising passenger appears on Sorcerer, as well. Nate’s no-nonsense attitude befits a worthy hero, but Lee gives him just enough snarkiness to make him a believable teenager. The author further invigorates this sequel with vibrant detail, from the sounds of Sorcerer(“the airship sighed and shuddered like a huge beast with a broken heart”) to the description of the North End’s abandoned, dilapidated factories inhabiting “a Chernobyl-like wasteland.” A smashing cliffhanger sets up a potential third installment.
Familiar mythical creatures bolster this dark, ongoing adventure.Pub Date: June 15, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-989496-31-2
Page Count: 276
Publisher: Poplar Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Despite some missteps, this will appeal to readers who enjoy a fresh and realistic teen voice.
A teenage, not-so-lonely loner endures the wilds of high school in Austin, Texas.
Norris Kaplan, the protagonist of Philippe’s debut novel, is a hypersweaty, uber-snarky black, Haitian, French-Canadian pushing to survive life in his new school. His professor mom’s new tenure-track job transplants Norris mid–school year, and his biting wit and sarcasm are exposed through his cataloging of his new world in a field guide–style burn book. He’s greeted in his new life by an assortment of acquaintances, Liam, who is white and struggling with depression; Maddie, a self-sacrificing white cheerleader with a heart of gold; and Aarti, his Indian-American love interest who offers connection. Norris’ ego, fueled by his insecurities, often gets in the way of meaningful character development. The scenes showcasing his emotional growth are too brief and, despite foreshadowing, the climax falls flat because he still gets incredible personal access to people he’s hurt. A scene where Norris is confronted by his mother for getting drunk and belligerent with a white cop is diluted by his refusal or inability to grasp the severity of the situation and the resultant minor consequences. The humor is spot-on, as is the representation of the black diaspora; the opportunity for broader conversations about other topics is there, however, the uneven buildup of detailed, meaningful exchanges and the glibness of Norris’ voice detract.
Despite some missteps, this will appeal to readers who enjoy a fresh and realistic teen voice. (Fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-282411-0
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
Though it lacks references or suggestions for further reading, Arn's agonizing story is compelling enough that many readers...
A harrowing tale of survival in the Killing Fields.
The childhood of Arn Chorn-Pond has been captured for young readers before, in Michelle Lord and Shino Arihara's picture book, A Song for Cambodia (2008). McCormick, known for issue-oriented realism, offers a fictionalized retelling of Chorn-Pond's youth for older readers. McCormick's version begins when the Khmer Rouge marches into 11-year-old Arn's Cambodian neighborhood and forces everyone into the country. Arn doesn't understand what the Khmer Rouge stands for; he only knows that over the next several years he and the other children shrink away on a handful of rice a day, while the corpses of adults pile ever higher in the mango grove. Arn does what he must to survive—and, wherever possible, to protect a small pocket of children and adults around him. Arn's chilling history pulls no punches, trusting its readers to cope with the reality of children forced to participate in murder, torture, sexual exploitation and genocide. This gut-wrenching tale is marred only by the author's choice to use broken English for both dialogue and description. Chorn-Pond, in real life, has spoken eloquently (and fluently) on the influence he's gained by learning English; this prose diminishes both his struggle and his story.
Though it lacks references or suggestions for further reading, Arn's agonizing story is compelling enough that many readers will seek out the history themselves. (preface, author's note) (Historical fiction. 12-15)Pub Date: May 8, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-06-173093-1
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 20, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2012
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