An impressive blend of a largely unseen preternatural being and the palpable horrors of war.
Soldiers in Afghanistan believe the demon they’re confronting isn’t metaphorical but a real entity that’s stalking them in this thriller.
Nine months after returning to the United States from Afghanistan, Lt. Matt Slayton identifies the body of soldier Bobby Sweet, dead from an apparent suicide. Other men from Slayton’s platoon have had similar fates, like one injured in a shootout with Texas police, spurred by a road rage incident. The narrative flashes back to Slayton first arriving at Combat Outpost Victor as the replacement lieutenant for Second Platoon, Charlie Company. The soldiers’ duties include protecting locals from the Taliban, but it’s the platoon that locals blame when, following a gunfight with Taliban fighters, village elder Aboud is dead next to a few shell casings. It seems, however, that the platoon’s alleged culpability is more far-reaching: Aboud had been keeping an evil entity trapped in a cave—a shrine—and now that spirit is free. Soon soldiers are plagued with nightmares and unnerving events: Cpl. Dixon mutters in his sleep (“Bad Yoda,” his buddies call it), while Slayton hallucinates a Great Dane-sized camel-spider attack. Occurrences increase in frequency and ferocity (one involving claymores), and side effects from pills (for example, antimalarial) are certainly not the reason. Slayton may have to decide who the worst enemy is: the Taliban or a demon called Balulu. Ryan’s (Night Bird Calling, 2014) novel is wrought with tension, set almost entirely in Afghanistan, with Slayton and his platoon in perpetual danger from baddies human or otherwise. Balulu, though not always tangible, remains an unmistakable threat; even if merely a notion, Slayton and others start attributing incidents to the demon. This gives weight to the Taliban as equally formidable villains, especially with the narrative’s implication that Balulu is merely an agitator triggering an already existing mutual animosity. There’s a bevy of violence and, despite the high body count, several surprising deaths. But this substantial tale has a compassionate side: Slayton doesn’t easily get over his first kill, and interpreter Mehrdad becomes both a friend and sounding board for him. The protagonist, too, has bouts of insight: “Not all wounds are physical,” he aptly puts it.
An impressive blend of a largely unseen preternatural being and the palpable horrors of war.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Dog Ear Publisher
Review Posted Online: Nov. 25, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.
A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.
Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Plum Street Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.
In the ninth book in the Bluford young-adult series, a young Latino man walks away from violence—but at great personal cost.
In a large Southern California city, 16-year-old Martin Luna hangs out on the fringes of gang life. He’s disaffected, fatherless and increasingly drawn into the orbit of the older, rougher Frankie. When a stray bullet kills Martin’s adored 8-year-old brother, Huero, Martin seems to be heading into a life of crime. But Martin’s mother, determined not to lose another son, moves him to another neighborhood—the fictional town of Bluford, where he attends the racially diverse Bluford High. At his new school, the still-grieving Martin quickly makes enemies and gets into trouble. But he also makes friends with a kind English teacher and catches the eye of Vicky, a smart, pretty and outgoing Bluford student. Martin’s first-person narration supplies much of the book’s power. His dialogue is plain, but realistic and believable, and the authors wisely avoid the temptation to lard his speech with dated and potentially embarrassing slang. The author draws a vivid and affecting picture of Martin’s pain and confusion, bringing a tight-lipped teenager to life. In fact, Martin’s character is so well drawn that when he realizes the truth about his friend Frankie, readers won’t feel as if they are watching an after-school special, but as though they are observing the natural progression of Martin’s personal growth. This short novel appears to be aimed at urban teens who don’t often see their neighborhoods portrayed in young-adult fiction, but its sophisticated characters and affecting story will likely have much wider appeal.
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004
ISBN: 978-1591940173
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Townsend Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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