Full of originality, this high-stakes fantasy with complex characters is a memorable read.
A fiercely independent teen races against time to discover a hidden cure and change fate.
Headstrong senior Norah Sullivan is accepted into the elite Academy of Navigation, where students learn how to enter flickerstate, the place “where the future comes from. The space between nothingness and the real.” The 17-year-old plans to find a cure for the flickerbeast bite on her bicep that she’s hiding from everyone—and the multiple bites her father suffered the day her rare gift manifested. Flickerbeasts feed on futures, increasing the likelihood of victims’ premature deaths. As Dad’s time runs out, Norah trains with her roommates, Candace Yang and Bree Allen, to win an Archive assistantship and access to information that might provide a solution. Desperate for any edge in the competition, white-presenting Norah asks her frustratingly handsome school-assigned mentor, Vikram Souza, who reads South Asian, to help her experiment with an unorthodox navigation technique. They grow closer—and more powerful—during early morning training sessions. But Norah’s fear of endangering others and revealing her bite makes it hard for her to let anyone in, including Vikram; her fallibility makes her an appealingly well-rounded protagonist. The inventive premise of flickerstate, a new and creative type of fantasy-world power, becomes increasingly clear as the plot unfolds. This singular work includes an enjoyable enemies-to-lovers romance and dynamic characters who explore morally gray areas.
Full of originality, this high-stakes fantasy with complex characters is a memorable read. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: July 28, 2026
ISBN: 9781464266195
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: yesterday
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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