A novel that vacillates between military history and family drama.
Journalist Adams turns his pen from adult nonfiction about Latin America to YA fiction grounded in the military history of the Mexican Revolution.
After 15-year-old Frederick and 17-year-old Isabel’s mother passes away in Washington, D.C., in 1911, the siblings set off for her homeland of Mexico in search of their only remaining parent. Their White American father, a professor, has gone there to support the revolutionary forces of Pancho Villa, who is trying to bring an end to the regime of President Porfirio Díaz. On the way, they join up with a traveling band of citizen soldiers, a ragtag team who hope to lend support to the revolutionary cause. A series of minor skirmishes escalates on the way to the climactic battle along the banks of the Río Bravo. Once the violence starts, character development takes a back seat to play-by-play descriptions of battles and weaponry. Though the main purpose for the teens’ presence in Mexico is to reunite with their father, this event comes and goes anticlimactically, with the story returning instead to minutiae of military movements. While there is certainly an audience for plot-driven military dramas and for engaging fictionalized accounts of Latin American history, this title cannot seem to decide whether to be a character-driven novel or detailed military history. Secondary characters likewise suffer from minimal backstory and character development.
A novel that vacillates between military history and family drama. (Historical fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-77183-681-4
Page Count: 200
Publisher: Guernica World Editions
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
An enticing, turbulent, and satisfying final voyage.
Adrian, the youngest of the Montague siblings, sails into tumultuous waters in search of answers about himself, the sudden death of his mother, and her mysterious, cracked spyglass.
On the summer solstice less than a year ago, Caroline Montague fell off a cliff in Aberdeen into the sea. When the Scottish hostel where she was staying sends a box of her left-behind belongings to London, Adrian—an anxious, White nobleman on the cusp of joining Parliament—discovers one of his mother’s most treasured possessions, an antique spyglass. She acquired it when she was the sole survivor of a shipwreck many years earlier. His mother always carried that spyglass with her, but on the day of her death, she had left it behind in her room. Although he never knew its full significance, Adrian is haunted by new questions and is certain the spyglass will lead him to the truth. Once again, Lee crafts an absorbing adventure with dangerous stakes, dynamic character growth, sharp social and political commentary, and a storm of emotion. Inseparable from his external search for answers about his mother, Adrian seeks a solution for himself, an end to his struggle with mental illness—a journey handled with hopeful, gentle honesty that validates the experiences of both good and bad days. Characters from the first two books play significant secondary roles, and the resolution ties up their loose ends. Humorous antics provide a well-measured balance with the heavier themes.
An enticing, turbulent, and satisfying final voyage. (Historical fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-291601-3
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2021
This swashbuckling tale anchored by historical details is a treasure.
A saucy, feminist take on “The Little Mermaid.”
This clever mashup includes actual 18th-century women pirates Mary Read and Anne Bonny, not to mention Blackbeard’s son, Tobias, legendary pirate Calico Jack, and a whole host of captains (Ahab! Crunch! Hook!). Woebegone mermaid Mary falls in love with a boy she rescues and becomes human to be with him. Alas, he turns out to be a narcissistic blowhard. After Mary jumps overboard, she’s rescued by pirates and pretends to be a boy in order to join their crew, which includes Tobias. Later, she runs into Calico Jack, her cousin who’s also Above, or in our world. He’s searching for his human father when he meets and is smitten with pugnacious Anne Bonny. At the AARP conference—the Admirable Association of Retired Pirates, that is—Mary, Jack, Anne, and Tobias learn that there’s to be a contest to determine the next Pirate King; whoever brings back the most treasure wins. Tobias knows where Blackbeard’s treasure is hidden. Meanwhile, Mary’s overbearing father, the Sea King, agrees to a bargain—either she becomes Pirate King or he takes her back home to Underwhere. This delightful farce contains seamless twists and gripping action, as well as some somber nods to harsh gender and racial inequalities. Tongue-in-cheek references, accessible writing, and dialogue that readers will connect with all create an immersive reading experience. The leads are white; Tobias is brown-skinned.
This swashbuckling tale anchored by historical details is a treasure. (authors' note) (Historical fantasy. 13-18)Pub Date: Aug. 20, 2024
ISBN: 9780062930101
Page Count: 448
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2024
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