A nuanced exploration of darker themes set in the world of the popular Avatar universe.
A 16-year-old refugee in a Chinese-inspired fantasy world delves into the mysteries of her new home in order to save a friend.
Jin and her grandfather Gong-gong live in Ba Sing Se’s Lower Ring, struggling to get by with delivery jobs. Gong-gong, once an expert calligrapher, taught Jin enough to earn a scholarship to a literature academy, but now he’s often mentally absent and confused. They’re part of a torrent of refugees whose families and villages were destroyed by the Fire Nation. Despite this, Ba Sing Se’s brutal enforcers, the Dai Li, insist that there is no war. Still grieving her parents, Jin dreams of a more comfortable life for Gong-gong and her best friend Susu’s family. After Susu is forced to take a servant job in the Upper Ring, risking a life of abuse by a wealthy employer, Jin begins accepting hazardous delivery jobs from the underground resistance, hoping to help Susu. Although this series opener takes place during the timeline of the Avatar: The Last Airbender series and contains cameos by characters from that world, it’s well-developed enough to succeed as a stand-alone. Lin delicately balances themes of inequality, societal control, insularity, and the impact of war with Jin’s resolve to help Susu, her burgeoning earthbending skills, and the struggle for a better world. Jin’s quest for a love like her parents’ leads to a realistic, supportive, slow-burn romance.
A nuanced exploration of darker themes set in the world of the popular Avatar universe. (Fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: July 22, 2025
ISBN: 9781419776045
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
Raw, delicate, and deeply caring.
When Death-Cast doesn’t call, fate intertwines the lives of two boys, both haunted by their pasts and with futures they can’t escape.
In this third installment of the series that opened with 2017’s They Both Die at the End, Paz Dario waits every night for Death-Cast to call—as it should have for his father nearly 10 years ago, when Paz shot him to save his mother’s life. But the call never comes. Death-Cast killed Paz’s dreams of an acting career: No one will hire him now because the world sees him as a villain. When Paz tries (not for the first time) to put an end to his suffering, an unexpected encounter with Alano Rosa, the heir of Death-Cast, stops him. Both in a place of desperation, Alano and Paz sign a contract to live for Begin Days instead of waiting for their End Days. As suspenseful and emotionally wrenching as the previous titles in the series, this new installment explores heavy themes of abuse, mental health, self-harm, and suicide. Paz grapples with a recent diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Silvera surrounds Alano and Paz with a web of complex relationships. Although the protagonists fall fast for one another and form a deep connection over Alano’s desire to support Paz, Silvera emphasizes the importance of professional help. Both Alano and Paz have Puerto Rican heritage. The cliffhanger ending promises more to come.
Raw, delicate, and deeply caring. (content warning, resources) (Speculative fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780063240858
Page Count: 720
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
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