A STEM treat for the curious.
A secret society for women in science taps three brilliant undergrads as new members.
Maya, Simone, and Taj don’t seem like the most harmonious of freshman roommates. Maya struggles to do her own laundry, Taj only wants to play video games, and they both refuse to share space with Simone’s ant farms. When the roommates each receive pieces of a cryptic invitation that they must work together to read, their conflicting personalities and complementary specialties contribute to the suspense in the adventure that follows. A pleasingly intellectual mystery hunt leads to a surprise escape room challenge at a secret lab—their college’s chapter of a clandestine organization founded by Marie Curie. The ensuing training montage and mission might be the most fascinating parts of the book: Decorative and informative art explores current or plausible near-future technologies like nanofiber bulletproof suits, ionic wind biplanes, and species de-extinction. Before long, the young women find themselves in a battle of both wits and fists, protecting cutting-edge research from corporations who would cut every corner. An emerging rogue organization nicely sets up a sequel. The characterization is deft and snappy, and the visual storytelling efficient and dynamic with an expressive color palette and varied panel layout. Maya is Indian American, Simone is Black, and Taj reads as White; there is ethnic diversity in the supporting cast.
A STEM treat for the curious. (scientist biographies, glossary, maps) (Graphic science fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: April 27, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-262-53994-4
Page Count: 168
Publisher: MIT Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2021
Intriguing, bittersweet, and strongly paced.
Ren buried her past, Sunho’s memory was stolen from him: Together they seek to solve the mysteries of who they are in this series opener set in an East Asian fantasy world.
Ren’s happy childhood ends when a demon attacks her adoptive family of itinerant performers, and she reveals her hidden powers while trying to protect them. Ren strikes out on her own, hoping to keep everyone safe from the pursuit she’s long been dreading. A powerful general from Sareniya hires mercenaries to hunt her down, and among the hunters is former child soldier Sunho, who recalls nothing of his past except that he has—or had—a brother and possibly harbors a demon. Sunho lives in the grim, lightless Under World, a city of factories, worker housing, and gang-ridden slums; from its underside, miners extract mithril, a poisonous and valuable ore. Above lies the elegant, radiant Floating World, home of nobility. The teens meet when Ren saves Sunho’s life, a debt he repays as they flee the general and his minions. Struggling to make sense of his newly awakened memories, Sunho needs Ren’s help to contain his demonic energy, while she needs his strength to keep her safe. Tepid love story and confusing geography notwithstanding, the fast-paced plot is original and engaging. Incorporating concepts from diverse sources—Tolkien’s mithril, Japanese Buddhism’s Floating World, and the Korean folktale “The Woodcutter and the Celestial Maiden”—Oh makes them her own.
Intriguing, bittersweet, and strongly paced. (Fantasy. 13-18)Pub Date: April 29, 2025
ISBN: 9781250853080
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations.
Magic, mystery, and love intertwine and invite in this newest take on the “enchanted circus” trope.
Sisters raised by their abusive father, a governor of a colonial backwater in a world vaguely reminiscent of the late 18th century, Scarlett and Donatella each long for something more. Scarlett, olive-skinned, dark of hair and attitude, longs for Caraval, the fabled, magical circus helmed by the possibly evil Master Legend Santos, while blonde, sunny Tella finds comfort in drink and the embraces of various men. A slightly awkward start, with inconsistencies of attitude and setting, rapidly smooths out when they, along with handsome “golden-brown” sailor Julian, flee to Caraval on the eve of Scarlett’s arranged marriage. Tella disappears, and Scarlett must navigate a nighttime world of magic to find her. Caraval delights the senses: beautiful and scary, described in luscious prose, this is a show readers will wish they could enter. Dresses can be purchased for secrets or days of life; clocks can become doors; bridges move: this is an inventive and original circus, laced with an edge of horror. A double love story, one sensual romance and the other sisterly loyalty, anchors the plot, but the real star here is Caraval and its secrets.
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-09525-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
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