An entertaining and promising beginning for a neo-retro spacefaring adventure series.
Latt’s YA SF novel chronicles the misadventures of a teenager who discovers—and claims—an abandoned space station in a remote corner of explored space.
In the far future, human Bevil Cyrex comes from a long line of Star Folk—families of space explorers who chose not to settle on planets and, for generations, have lived peacefully on massive ships as sovereign nations. While out on a mining mission by himself, Cyrex attempts to steal supplies from an unmanned Earth Alliance outpost. This bad decision is compounded when a pirate destroys his ship and tries to kill him. Cyrex barely escapes with his life, but after taking the pirate’s craft, he realizes it’s preprogrammed with a deadly security feature: Without a code, the vessel will travel into deep space until its power runs out—and the interloper is dead. Cyrex’s life is spared, however, when the ship dies near an ancient space station. Once inside the massive structure, he realizes the entire place is in immaculate condition. When he meets a sentient nanite swarm that’s been the station’s caretaker for centuries—and that takes the form of his grandmother Nan—his view of the universe, and its inhabitants, is irrevocably changed. One of this novel’s greatest strengths is its strong and steady narrative focus. Latt’s writing is purposeful, the pacing relentless, and the action virtually nonstop; it all has the glorious sense of wonder associated with golden-age SF. Cyrex is insightfully portrayed as a young man trying to find his place in the universe, and the supporting characters are all brilliantly developed—particularly Nan, an artificial intelligence that’s learning, sometimes quite humorously, what it means to be human. Bombshell plot twists abound as Cyrex and company struggle to open the space station and stay alive as pirates and Alliance military eye the structure as a potential base.
An entertaining and promising beginning for a neo-retro spacefaring adventure series.Pub Date: Dec. 6, 2022
ISBN: 9798986331508
Page Count: 360
Publisher: The Chapel Perilous
Review Posted Online: Jan. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 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
An entertaining and atmospheric, though sometimes clumsy, exploration of the true cost of beauty.
In this retelling of a classic, a drama student’s obsession with beauty leads her down a dark—and possibly deadly—path.
Eighteen-year-old Penny Paxton is beginning her first year at Dorian Drama Academy in Edinburgh, Scotland, where she hopes to follow in her starlet mother’s footsteps—and earn the love that her mother has never seemed to offer. At Dorian, Penny is mentored by Royal Shakespeare Company legend Orlagh Camran, who makes her the compelling offer of a portrait by the Masked Painter, a mysterious artist with the ability to gift his subjects everlasting youth and beauty. But shortly after Penny’s portrait is complete, several of the Masked Painter’s subjects are found murdered. Fearing that she’s made a terrible mistake and may become the next victim, Penny, who’s gay, begins to investigate the murders with the help of an unlikely ally. As she attempts to uncover the truth surrounding the Masked Painter and the murders, she’s forced to reckon with her own toxic obsession with beauty. This chilling, atmospheric novel, inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray, is entertaining and full of twists, though some of the reveals feel contrived and some questions are left unanswered. The plot unravels at a leisurely pace but eventually builds to an action-packed (if somewhat convoluted) conclusion. Most characters are cued white.
An entertaining and atmospheric, though sometimes clumsy, exploration of the true cost of beauty. (content note, author’s note, bonus scene) (Fantasy thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: May 26, 2026
ISBN: 9781250346797
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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