Dinosaurs, danger, and hidden treasure make for a lively, if overstuffed, adventure.
A teen on an archaeological dig in Mongolia finds himself at the center of a conspiracy to uncover the treasures of Genghis Khan’s lost tomb in Cooper’s YA thriller.
Fourteen-year-old language prodigy Vance has been promised the “adventure of a lifetime” by his Uncle Frank: a chance to travel to Mongolia to hunt for fossils of a mysterious dinosaur. Once there, the teenager finds himself far more interested in Michelle, the daughter of the expedition’s photographer, than in Mongolia’s Flaming Cliffs or its horse-milk-rich local cuisine. In the face of bandits and sandstorms, tensions within their group grow harder to ignore: Mr. Carrel, the expedition’s wealthy financier, grows increasingly impatient with Uncle Frank despite some significant historical finds, while Carrel’s sinister Russian associate, Tarkov, takes a sadistic pleasure in bullying Vance. Tarkov doesn’t know that Vance also speaks Russian, and the boy overhears his and Carrel’s true plan for the dig: uncovering the long-hidden tomb of Genghis Khan and its immense riches, a prize they’re willing to endanger the children to claim. Cooper’s YA novel is full of pulpy thrills, pitting its young protagonist against unfamiliar terrain and scheming adults who underestimate him. The story offers plenty of high-stakes adventure while drawing on Mongolia’s culture and geography, the history and lore of Genghis Khan, and the ever-durable allure of dinosaurs. References to real-world archaeology and paleontology will likely encourage readers to explore these topics after finishing the book. Though the narrative never loses momentum—Cooper is always throwing some new challenge at Vance and the group—it takes a little too long to reach the deeper intrigue and danger of Carrel and Tarkov’s plan, leaving the story somewhat unmoored until their subterfuge is revealed. It’s easy to forgive the wait, however—Vance and Carrel’s final showdown is too clever to spoil here, but it will shatter stalactites, stalagmites, and expectations.
Dinosaurs, danger, and hidden treasure make for a lively, if overstuffed, adventure.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: June 12, 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
An entertaining and atmospheric, though sometimes clumsy, exploration of the true cost of beauty.
In this retelling of a classic, a drama student’s obsession with beauty leads her down a dark—and possibly deadly—path.
Eighteen-year-old Penny Paxton is beginning her first year at Dorian Drama Academy in Edinburgh, Scotland, where she hopes to follow in her starlet mother’s footsteps—and earn the love that her mother has never seemed to offer. At Dorian, Penny is mentored by Royal Shakespeare Company legend Orlagh Camran, who makes her the compelling offer of a portrait by the Masked Painter, a mysterious artist with the ability to gift his subjects everlasting youth and beauty. But shortly after Penny’s portrait is complete, several of the Masked Painter’s subjects are found murdered. Fearing that she’s made a terrible mistake and may become the next victim, Penny, who’s gay, begins to investigate the murders with the help of an unlikely ally. As she attempts to uncover the truth surrounding the Masked Painter and the murders, she’s forced to reckon with her own toxic obsession with beauty. This chilling, atmospheric novel, inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray, is entertaining and full of twists, though some of the reveals feel contrived and some questions are left unanswered. The plot unravels at a leisurely pace but eventually builds to an action-packed (if somewhat convoluted) conclusion. Most characters are cued white.
An entertaining and atmospheric, though sometimes clumsy, exploration of the true cost of beauty. (content note, author’s note, bonus scene) (Fantasy thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: May 26, 2026
ISBN: 9781250346797
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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