In this bizarre little story, first published in New Zealand in 2009 as The Loblolly Boy, a boy named Michael desperately wants out of his miserable life at a home for orphaned and abandoned children, and one day he sees his chance. A strange creature called the loblolly boy convinces Michael that he can fly right over the wall. When he does, Michael discovers—to his initial joy and later dismay—that he has traded places with the loblolly boy. After some fantastical adventures, loblolly boy/Michael winds up finding his long-lost family. His sisters take turns becoming the loblolly boy, but they ultimately pass the role back to Michael so he can regain his identity and escape the orphanage to come and live with them. To do it, he’ll have to outmaneuver the collectors who want him as a specimen and to convince the boy who now holds his body to “exchange” again. The premise has potential, but a lack of engaging characters and sense of immediacy make this one really drag. (Fantasy. 10-14)
Pub Date: July 13, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-60684-084-9
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Egmont USA
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2010
An intriguing series opener that explores emotional themes through a magical lens.
An American teen’s powers make her dangerous—to some, anyway.
Ever since the Great Outburst 10 years ago that killed Aria Loveridge’s mother, the world has known that dreamslingers are a threat. Fourteen-year-old Aria has learned to control her dreamslinger powers by keeping her emotions in check, demonstrating her father’s argument that those who share this genetic mutation might be dangerous but are “patients who [deserve] society’s care.” When the secretive Kingdom of Royal Hanguk, located on an island in Seoul, announces that its Annual Royal Slinger Trials will for the first time be open to teenagers from every nation, Aria, who’s cued Korean and white, agrees to participate. She’s on a secret assignment for the governor of Texas, who wants her to find out what threats Royal Hanguk might be planning to unleash on the world. But when she arrives, Aria finds a place that accepts dreamslingers, and she begins to make friends. As she learns about her abilities, she discovers more about her past and what it means to be a dreamslinger, secrets that tie her both to her father’s philosophies and to Royal Hanguk. As she becomes more invested in the training, Aria must decide where her loyalties lie. The worldbuilding is fun but contains emotional depth, and the perennially appealing magic school setting contains a healthy dash of familial and political drama. This deftly executed work successfully addresses serious coming-of-age themes with optimism.
An intriguing series opener that explores emotional themes through a magical lens. (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: April 29, 2025
ISBN: 9781368104777
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2025
A thrilling conclusion to a beautifully crafted, heart-stopping trilogy.
This is the moment teens Seth, Anaya, and Petra have both been anticipating and dreading ever since aliens called cryptogens began attempting to colonize the Earth: the chance to defend their planet.
In an earlier volume, Seth, Anaya, and Petra began growing physical characteristics that made them realize they were half alien. Seth has wings, Petra has a tail, and Anaya has fur. They also have the power of telepathy, which Anaya uses to converse with Terra, a cryptogen rebel looking for human allies who could help stop the invasion of Earth. Terra plans to use a virus stored in the three teens’ bodies to disarm the flyers, which are the winged aliens that are both masterminding the invasion and enslaving the other species of cryptogens known as swimmers and runners. But Terra and her allies can’t pull any of this off without the help of Anaya, Seth, and Petra. Although the trio is anxious about their abilities, they don’t have much of a choice—the entire human race is depending on them for salvation. Like its predecessors, this trilogy closer is fast-paced and well structured. Despite its post-apocalyptic setting, the story is fundamentally character driven, and it is incredibly satisfying to watch each protagonist overcome their inner battles within the context of the larger human-alien war. Main characters read as White.
A thrilling conclusion to a beautifully crafted, heart-stopping trilogy. (Science fiction. 11-14)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-984894-80-9
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2021
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
