A complex decolonial romantic fantasy steeped in Afro-Caribbean mythology and queer acceptance.
Two queer Black teens living many years apart search for home in McLeod’s dual-narrative sophomore novel.
In the historical timeline, Levi, the skirt-wearing, nearly-16-year-old son of a pirate captain, feels adrift. While his sister, Vega, knows the origins of her birth as a fallen star, Levi’s mother died when he was a baby. When an unexpected loss leaves Levi with even more questions, the siblings join forces with an ungendered nymph named Kano, journeying to the Caribbean-inspired Pirate Republic of Sheta Island. There they hope to learn more about Levi’s origins and the possible existence of a magical land known as Xaymaca. In present-day New Shetatown on Sheta Island, 16-year-old Reggie Hornigold feels like an outsider. Bullied by classmates, she feels lonely until she’s paired with new girl Maeve O’Neill for a class assignment. Exploring their island’s history for their project, the two embark on their own voyage of discovery—of their home, each other, and themselves. McLeod uses the second person for Reggie’s chapters and the third person for Levi’s. Slightly clunky and self-conscious verse interludes provide further background, and a tidy conclusion weaves the dual timelines into one. While the worldbuilding and narration sometimes feel overcrowded, readers will root for the engaging protagonists and their found families. Most main characters are Black, and Maeve, who’s white, is cued Irish.
A complex decolonial romantic fantasy steeped in Afro-Caribbean mythology and queer acceptance. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9781499817959
Page Count: 376
Publisher: Yellow Jacket
Review Posted Online: July 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
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
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
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