An inventive first novel that’s enlivened by an appealing hero.
In Christie’s YA fantasy novel, a teenage orphan must save the first real home he’s ever known from a deadly threat.
Chester “Chezzy” Nithercot, who was abandoned on the steps of an orphanage as a baby, has had bad luck finding an adoptive family. He thinks that his latest placement with the Fieldmores might change all that—but his new foster brother Stuart turns out to be a spiny monster, and Chezzy’s orphanage caretaker quickly removes Chezzy from the home. The orphan’s fortunes change with the arrival of professors Aris Kepler and Alexa Da Maxwell, who take him to Balefire, an underground school for mutants and scientific geniuses. Kepler informs Chezzy that he’s a rare “everling”: an immortal being who can’t be killed. The professor gives the teen a mission: to track the SIs, the holographic “projected people” who’ve been popping up around the school. Soon, Chezzy makes his first friends, who include scaredy-cat Stuart, renegade Fern, and Fair, who can change colors. It turns out that Chezzy’s assignment is part of Kepler’s master plan to stop the Acid King, who’s terrorizing Balefire (and who has a personal history with the professor). Chezzy and his crew become confident investigators, leading to a showdown that they may not survive. In their debut novel, Christie stirs up enjoyable comparisons to Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters from Marvel’s X-Men comics. In this first volume, the author sets up the fictional world perfectly; it’s hard to go wrong with a character such as Stuart, a porcupine-like young man who’s afraid of his own shadow. In addition to a colorful cast, the book offers a textured backdrop in Balefire, with Chezzy ably serving as the reader’s guide. However, Christie is wise enough to leave plenty of room for exploring the setting and characters in future novels. The author also smartly does what few writers remember to do in series openers—resolving the main storyline while also hinting at the future, rather than leaving everything major plot points hanging. Overall, it’s an engaging introduction to a fantastical world.
An inventive first novel that’s enlivened by an appealing hero.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2025
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Feb. 6, 2026
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
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