A fast-paced undersea thriller with an important environmental message.
Danger lurks beneath the depths for a young aquanaut and her new free-diving friend in Jeansonne’s YA adventure novel.
Fourteen-year-old Jeanbeau Labourde and 12-year-old Addie Lyons meet in pretty dire circumstances: Jeanbeau, a free-diver and spearfisherman from the U.S. Virgin Islands community Frenchtown, makes the mistake of diving for too long while exploring the reef near Capella Island and blacks out. Luckily, Addie and her family, aquanauts living in a submarine-like home conducting research at various depths, find the young diver and rescue him. Friendship, or perhaps something more, immediately blooms between Jeanbeau and Addie. More danger arises, however, when the ne’er-do-well Joe Brooks enters the picture. Jeanbeau, who lives in the same town with Brooks, is immediately suspicious, noting that “trouble always seems to come around when Joe does.” And trouble does come when Joe’s drug smuggling operation, which involves stashing contraband in an old shipwreck, is threatened by a family of nosy scientists (Addie and her parents) poking around in there. In simple prose and fast-paced chapters, the author spins a yarn filled with drama and excitement. In the midst of all the action-packed plotting, Jeansonne also finds time to educate his readers about aquatic life, scuba diving, and—in a very prescient scene where Addie and her father find leaked diesel fuel—the hazardous effects human activities have on marine ecosystems. While some of the story elements, particularly those related to the smuggling operation, may be too mature for some young readers, the book does an excellent job balancing high-stakes peril and educational content for middle-grade and YA audiences. The narrative drops the ball when it comes to Joe—his character seems underdeveloped, and his speech can veer into stereotypical patois (dropping letters and saying “da” instead of “the” in Caribbean dialect). Joe aside, this is a fun, splashy plunge.
A fast-paced undersea thriller with an important environmental message.Pub Date: April 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798390491928
Page Count: 168
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Aug. 12, 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
BOOK REVIEW
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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