Intricate and atmospheric; an invitation to bravery in the face of crisis.
Tension mounts and the earth stirs as a 15-year-old Nasca girl living in the Atacama Desert circa 575 CE fights for the safety of her community in this sequel to Call of the Owl Woman (2025).
Even as the drought worsens, Patya remains determined to care for her tribe and protect her younger brother, Tachico. The close of the previous installment saw the cruel ambitions of the priest Achiq stymied, but his hunger for control and his bloodthirsty desire for Tachico’s head remain undiminished. When Achiq schemes to undermine the people’s trust in Patya, she sets out to seek support from the healers and shamans who worked closely with her late grandmother. Patya’s connection to her ancestors and to the powers of the natural world burgeon as she learns more about the traditions of her people and comes into her own as a young woman. Huber describes what is known and what is hypothesized about Nasca traditions in loving and intensive detail, paying particular attention to spiritual and healing practices. The novel is weighed down at times by the sheer quantity of information, but the pace is propulsive, and Patya is never at rest for long. Her growing maturity is matched by the gravity of the challenges she faces, but the novel maintains lightness with a steady core of love and long-sighted optimism.
Intricate and atmospheric; an invitation to bravery in the face of crisis. (map, author’s note, cast of characters, glossary) (Historical fantasy. 13-18)Pub Date: today
ISBN: 9798896363828
Page Count: 264
Publisher: SparkPress
Review Posted Online: July 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026
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
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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