A haunting survival story with impeccable atmosphere.
A boy and his dog scrape by in an apocalyptic wasteland.
Eighteen-year-old Jack’s mundane rural life is suddenly uprooted when he survives a mysterious calamity that leaves the world wrecked to oblivion. The ground has been split open by quakes, massive floods cause devastation, and the sky rumbles with bizarre storms. Jack quickly learns that nearly everyone he knows has died in the chaos—the sole exception being his loyal dog, Bud. Horrified but unwilling to give up, Jack sets out with Bud on a journey to the coast, hoping to find a place that hasn’t been destroyed. Jack finds an ally in scrappy 16-year-old Eve, and the white-presenting pair help each other get by in the now-hostile environment. All the while, Sky Station, a large airborne vessel meant to help with “this kind of crap,” has gone strangely silent. The descriptions of the landscape are minimalist yet evocative, made up of fragmented sentences that reflect Jack’s desolation. The inherent dread of the rural setting, which evokes the American South, seeps into every page, creating a building sense of horror. Biblical allusions make the relatively grounded world feel almost supernatural. Despite the story’s grittiness, budding moments of human compassion prevent things from seeming hopeless. There are plenty of lingering mysteries about the nature of the calamity and the truth behind Sky Station that are sure to have readers coming back for the sequel.
A haunting survival story with impeccable atmosphere. (Post-apocalyptic. 14-18)Pub Date: March 3, 2026
ISBN: 9781963511239
Page Count: 157
Publisher: Flare Books/Catalyst Press
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2026
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
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
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