Six years after she was scarred in a brutal attack—sanctioned by the elders of her Pakistani village as punishment in an interfamily dispute—Nadira, 18, labors as a domestic servant in Karachi, supporting her widowed mother and little brother, Umar. (The cover photo of a demure, beautifully groomed teen seems to belong to a different story.) When Umar is kidnapped, sold as a child jockey to race camels for wealthy sheikhs, Nadira vows to rescue him and, disguised as a boy, becomes a jockey herself. Slow to start, the story takes off when the action shifts to the jockey training camps but is hampered by its awkward epistolary format, which distances readers from the action and drains the narrative of suspense. Nadira is the most fleshed-out character, yet much about her remains a mystery: What is her religion? Why is the Persian A Thousand and One Nights her primary cultural referent? In a story billed as fact-based, important details are omitted: How does the trafficking system work? Who owns the jockeys? Are the camps and race tracks in or outside Pakistan? No glossary or extra-narrative explanation is provided. And although the subject matter is geared to young adults, the elementary vocabulary and simple syntax appear designed for younger readers. A well-intentioned but flawed execution of a fascinating story. (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2007
ISBN: 1-4169-1767-5
Page Count: 192
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2007
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel,...
Adventure drags our heroine all over the map of fantasyland while giving her the opportunity to use her smarts.
Elisa—Princess Lucero-Elisa de Riqueza of Orovalle—has been chosen for Service since the day she was born, when a beam of holy light put a Godstone in her navel. She's a devout reader of holy books and is well-versed in the military strategy text Belleza Guerra, but she has been kept in ignorance of world affairs. With no warning, this fat, self-loathing princess is married off to a distant king and is embroiled in political and spiritual intrigue. War is coming, and perhaps only Elisa's Godstone—and knowledge from the Belleza Guerra—can save them. Elisa uses her untried strategic knowledge to always-good effect. With a character so smart that she doesn't have much to learn, body size is stereotypically substituted for character development. Elisa’s "mountainous" body shrivels away when she spends a month on forced march eating rat, and thus she is a better person. Still, it's wonderfully refreshing to see a heroine using her brain to win a war rather than strapping on a sword and charging into battle.
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel, reminiscent of Naomi Kritzer's Fires of the Faithful (2002), keeps this entry fresh. (Fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-202648-4
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
When Clara Luna, 14, visits rural Mexico for the summer to visit the paternal grandparents she has never met, she cannot know her trip will involve an emotional and spiritual journey into her family’s past and a deep connection to a rich heritage of which she was barely aware. Long estranged from his parents, Clara’s father had entered the U.S. illegally years before, subsequently becoming a successful business owner who never spoke about what he left behind. Clara’s journey into her grandmother’s history (told in alternating chapters with Clara’s own first-person narrative) and her discovery that she, like her grandmother and ancestors, has a gift for healing, awakens her to the simple, mystical joys of a rural lifestyle she comes to love and wholly embrace. Painfully aware of not fitting into suburban teen life in her native Maryland, Clara awakens to feeling alive in Mexico and realizes a sweet first love with Pedro, a charming goat herder. Beautifully written, this is filled with evocative language that is rich in imagery and nuance and speaks to the connections that bind us all. Add a thrilling adventure and all the makings of an entrancing read are here. (glossaries) (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2006
ISBN: 0-385-73343-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2006
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