Thoughtfully takes on issues facing real Black communities.
In the latest Black Panther novel, Zoboi takes the reader to the U.S. with the Dora Milaje.
Okoye, a Dora Milaje warrior and protector of Wakandan King T’Chaka, goes on a special diplomatic and humanitarian assignment, accompanying the king and Capt. Aneka to New York. King T’Chaka is invited as a guest of Stella Adams, a wealthy, powerful real estate mogul and leader of an organization called No Nation Left Behind. Though ostensibly friendly, Adams seems sinister, raising Okoye’s alarm bells. Later Okoye meets councilwoman Lucinda Tate, who represents Brownsville, a district of Brooklyn whose population is primarily poor people of color. Tate warns her about Adams and invites King T’Chaka to the opening of the Brownsville community center. Infested with a drug called PyroBliss that is imported by Adams and NNLB, the Brownsville community is under constant assault after users take the drug and set fires that burn the community down, and gentrification pushes residents out. Okoye makes it her personal mission to help the young people in Brownsville rid their community of PyroBliss—and Adams. Multiple social problems plaguing Black and urban spaces are consolidated into this one blond villainess. Rather than being an action-packed superhero story, this novel explores problems rooted in inequities in race, power, and economics and forces readers to confront real and complex social constructs in a semi-imagined world.
Thoughtfully takes on issues facing real Black communities. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: March 22, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-368-04697-8
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Marvel Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 29, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2021
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
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
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