Complex connections, higher stakes, and more dire repercussions combine to make this a compelling read.
Faron and Elara return in this duology closer following 2024’s So Let Them Burn—and their magic and relationships face even greater tests.
As the Childe Empyrean, a magical vessel and protector of San Irie, Faron Vincent was revered like a deity by her people and trusted by the gods to be a conduit of their power. And then she betrayed them. To save Elara, her sister whose bond with a dragon posed a potentially fatal threat, Faron joined forces with the deity Iya—who waged war on and sought to claim San Irie—to help build his army and enact his plan of destroying more nations. Racked with guilt, Faron has no faith she’ll ever be able to return home. But that doesn’t stop her from trying to take down the very entity she chose over her people, to end his days of chaos and spare other nations. Elara, now in the role of Maiden Empyrean, will do everything in her power to rebuild San Irie and bring her sister back, no matter the cost. Will the sisters survive a war when they’re forced to be on rival sides? Cole maintains her fresh and engaging prose as the primarily Black characters grapple with inner turmoil, external conflict, human relationships, and supernatural bonds. Readers will be better served by having read the first installment.
Complex connections, higher stakes, and more dire repercussions combine to make this a compelling read. (map) (Fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780316534956
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and...
A deliciously creepy page-turning gem from first-time writer and illustrator Brosgol finds brooding teenager Anya trying to escape the past—both her own and the ghost haunting her.
Anya feels out of place at her preppy private school; embarrassed by her Russian heritage, she has worked hard to lose her accent and to look more like everyone else. After a particularly frustrating morning at the bus stop, Anya storms off, only to accidentally fall down a well. Down in the dark hole, she meets Emily, a ghost who claims to be a murder victim trapped down in the dank abyss for 90 years. With Emily’s help, Anya manages to escape, though once free, she learns that Emily has traveled out with her. At first, Emily seems like the perfect friend; however, once her motives become clear, Anya learns that “perfect” may only be an illusion. A moodily atmospheric spectrum of grays washes over the clean, tidy panels, setting a distinct stage before the first words appear. Brosgol’s tight storytelling invokes the chilling feeling of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (2002), though for a decidedly older set.
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and outward appearance. (Graphic supernatural fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: June 7, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59643-552-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
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