Good if slightly overstuffed post-apocalyptic sci-fi.
Earth might be conquered, but the teens of the western United States haven’t given up completely in this series conclusion.
Teenagers Mira Toombs and Holt Hawkins are back together and able to act on their mutual affection, but their young friend Zoey, called Scion by the alien Assembly, has been abducted by Earth’s conquerors. Mira, Holt and their cohorts want to rescue Zoey and maybe save Earth (or at least keep things from getting worse). To do that, the Wind Traders, the paramilitary group White Helix and the rebel factions of the Assembly will have to work together. Mira heads to the Citadel in San Francisco, the seat of Assembly power, while Holt tries to enlist the pirates of the Menagerie in the fight. Zoey struggles against her captor; Mira, now psychically connected to the Assembly, fights to keep both coalition and sanity intact; and Holt, who, after a surprise attack by the Assembly, thinks he’s lost Mira for good, comes face to face with the man who’s been hunting him down: Tiberius, leader of the Menagerie. Is there any way this shaky association can prevail against the superior numbers and firepower of the Assembly? In the conclusion to his science-fantasy trilogy, Mitchell’s heavy description sometimes bogs down the action, but the battles are intense and numerous. Series readers will enjoy it, but newbies should definitely start with the first.
Good if slightly overstuffed post-apocalyptic sci-fi. (Science fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Dec. 2, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-250-00948-7
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Dunne/St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Sept. 30, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2014
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
Both entertaining and well-written; demands and holds readers’ attention.
A duology opener that revisits the world of Divergent (2011).
Beatrice “Tris” Prior is Divergent. But before she can select Dauntless, her Choosing Ceremony is interrupted by a group of factionless rebels, and her good friend is killed. Amid the chaos, Tris sees Evelyn, the wife of Abnegation leader Marcus Eaton—but Evelyn supposedly died years ago. And, shockingly, she’s an Amity woman who’s holding a gun. Tris doesn’t tell anyone, even her father, when he later questions her. Her brother, Caleb, chooses Erudite—the faction that’s most critical toward the Abnegation and their practices—and Tris feels pressured to stay in Abnegation. But when her father tries to erase her memories, she knows she’s unsafe. Tris’ mother helps her escape to the factionless, where Tris meets Four, a Dauntless boy. Their relationship shows her that she was right to leave Abnegation—and that maybe the rebels are correct to want the death of the faction system. As Tris becomes friends with the other “faction failures,” she realizes that no faction is as it seems, and that power is a corrupting influence they can’t escape. This exciting work revisits beloved characters, offering a new understanding of them and of what happens when we stand up and ask questions. Returning fans and those new to this world will appreciate the witty banter, slow-burn romance, and heartache stemming from betrayal and complicated familial love. The leads are cued white.
Both entertaining and well-written; demands and holds readers’ attention. (Dystopian. 13-18)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9780063462595
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2026
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