Readers will be caught up by the sweeping tale, which is more successful than many similar attempts at bringing a...
British historian Castor chooses a well-rehearsed period of history to re-examine what made the Tudor monarch tick from a new perspective.
The tale of Henry VIII’s meteoric rise to supreme power is told in the first person, present tense, providing a credible analysis of Henry’s character as it evolved from innocent child to the charismatic brutal warrior that stares out from Holbein’s portrait. Traumatized by the death of his mother in childbirth and haunted by a recurring vision of a deathly boy, the young Hal fills his life with manly pursuits, fighting, jousting and gambling. When his elder brother, Arthur, unexpectedly dies, Hal realizes that a prophecy has been fulfilled, and he now has a straight line to the throne. However his pleasure at the unexpected succession is short-lived. The difficulties of producing a royal heir, together with the thwarting of his overweening military ambition against the French by Spanish Catherine’s family and his own more cautious advisers cause Henry to become increasingly cynical and desperate. His final decline into a paranoid, apoplectic tyrant is portrayed in a sequence of quasi-cinematic tableaux that punctuate the 30-year span of his reign and clarify the complex historical narrative. The unabashedly modern dialogue is at times jarring, but minor anachronisms are easy to forgive in this ambitious effort.
Readers will be caught up by the sweeping tale, which is more successful than many similar attempts at bringing a fascinating historical character and period to life. (Historical fiction. 13 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 20, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4424-7418-5
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 28, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
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
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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