The novel starts with a bang in an interesting setting, but it quickly fizzles into melodrama.
Kate Thompson seeks revenge at any cost after her father is killed by a gang of robbers who believe he had information about a mythical gold mine.
Disguised as a boy, Kate quickly tracks a wounded gang member into town, where she interrogates him, confirms he is part of the notoriously vicious Rose Riders gang who now have her father’s gold mine maps, and summarily executes him. She then heads toward the nearby town of Wickenburg looking for Abe, the man her father always told her to find if he died. Though Abe turns out to have died years earlier, his sons were told to adopt any Thompson that ever arrives looking for him. Jesse and Will ask the still-disguised Kate to stay on their ranch, but she’s too focused on tracking the Rose Riders to take them up on their offer. Because they’re struggling financially, the brothers agree to accompany her in exchange for any gold that they discover. The journey immediately seems doomed due to Kate’s blinding rage, which luckily is no obstacle to love, as a predictable romance develops between Kate and Jesse, once he discovers she’s a girl. And the predictability continues as clichéd Wild West characters pop in and out of the story so frequently that even their deaths leave little emotional impact.
The novel starts with a bang in an interesting setting, but it quickly fizzles into melodrama. (Historical romance. 12-18)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-544-46638-8
Page Count: 336
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2015
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
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
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