An imaginative, if unevenly executed, tale of royal intrigue.
Blaise’s sprawling YA fantasy series opener tells a tale of a lost king’s hidden heirs and a kingdom under threat.
Fourteen-year-old Wesley Delaine and his siblings in the Kingdom of Nantes have grown up with a secret: They have claims to the throne of the missingKing Gaspard through their sorceress mother, Sophia. These claims are further proven by their possession of Gaspard’s private writings detailing a treasure hidden away in a field in an unknown land. Unbeknownst to them, Sophia is alive and hiding from her family to protect them from those who would seek the treasure for their own ends. When the kingdom is attacked by pirate trolls and mysterious magic causes a chaotic winter storm, Wesley is approached by members of an underground rebellion against King Ninian, the current monarch. Their insistence that his mother started the rebellion challenges everything Wesley thought he knew. As his brothers pursue their own claims to succession and King Ninian offers him his friendship, Wesley must decide whom he can truly trust and how best to save the kingdom. Blaise’s worldbuilding is well thought out, and it’s the highlight of the novel, which helpfully features Kimpel’s illustrations of the characters and a detailed map of Nantes. The magic is effectively integrated into the story with vivid descriptions: “A small burst of light, about the size of a pinhead, jumped from the dirt to the edge of the stone, where it shook and shimmered.….Suddenly the dot burst, exploding into brilliant specks.” The cast, however, feels a bit larger than necessary, as there isn’t enough space to develop the people that connect to Wesley’s story, as interesting as they are. Wesley is clearly the heart of the tale, but the narrative often shifts to new point-of-view characters at crucial moments. Also, chapters in which the antagonists explain their plans in detail dispel any dramatic tension that’s built up. Despite this, the story manages to pull the disparate characters’ journeys together even if the pacing lags at times.
An imaginative, if unevenly executed, tale of royal intrigue.Pub Date: March 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-1645385653
Page Count: 638
Publisher: Ten16 Press
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2023
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
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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