A well-written, absorbing martial arts tale best suited for older YA audiences.
In this YA martial arts adventure, a boy in a remote temple trains for greatness while unaware of his family’s true nature.
Eleven-year-old Apollo Salvatoir lives in San Francisco. His father, William, is a successful businessman while his mother, Tayleigh, died in a car accident two months ago. Apollo loves gymnastics and his best friend, 11-year-old Tan Ling. When classes at Willoughby’s Academy break for the summer, Apollo’s busy father allows his cruel assistant and lover, Jamie Plover, to care for his son. The physically abusive woman calls Apollo “nothing but a dog.” Apollo and Ling eventually film Jamie’s abuse with a cellphone to expose her. But Jamie catches them, spoiling the plan and triggering Apollo’s transfer to an “exclusive private school” in rural China. At the strange school, the other children wear color-coded robes and treat Apollo like an inconsequential gerbil. Apollo soon comes under the tutelage of the instructor Shīfŭ Hui, who tells him: “The feet of a dragon stand firm against evil, walking toward and never away from duty.” Meanwhile, Ling, whose father, Tan Far, considers her an embarrassment, sends her to the Chinese village of Xitanxiang, where she’ll attend school. Ling and Apollo soon become trapped in a familial rivalry between two martial arts sects: the White Dragons and the Black Dragons. Bertoch gives YA and advanced middle-grade readers a well-crafted, unvarnished adventure that follows the chosen one format. Chapters begin with paragraphs of wisdom from The Book of the Wyvern Spirits, explaining the humble beginnings of the legendary figure that Apollo will become, Shā-Shŭ, and including inspirational passages like “Each of us has a role to play, and the world is better when we reach without fear toward it.” Apollo is a great role model for readers, as he helps the aging Lanfen in the school’s kitchen. The abuse he suffers is graphic, as when Jamie strikes “Apollo across the chest.” While other YA fare might include fanciful elements like magic to balance harsher themes, the author forgoes anything that might soften his message of braving a dangerous world. Finding a new family is what saves Apollo.
A well-written, absorbing martial arts tale best suited for older YA audiences.Pub Date: March 3, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-946334-00-8
Page Count: 265
Publisher: Finny Wiggen Media
Review Posted Online: May 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
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
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
