A hard-fought happy ending.
A fiery finale filled with black magic and (especially) Black magic.
This trilogy closer unfolds over the course of three acts: Act I follows the aftermath of Malik’s spell to capture the murderous Marinette, who’s taken hold of his mother. Malik’s powerful magic has also manifested a ghost kingdom where he, his newly discovered father, and an idealized version of the mother he’s always wanted are finally reunited. In Act II, Malik, who escaped the ghost kingdom to find that two months had passed in the real world, returns to Caiman University, where Marinette’s demonic forces and growing resentments among magic wielders threaten to tear everything down. While multiple factions are campaigning for Caiman’s downfall and the destruction of everything Malik knows and loves, the spring semester goes on, continuing the Afro-diasporic magic school framing that has made this series so accessible and refreshing and highlighting both the fantastical and mundane pressures of being a Black teen. Act III brings to light the secrets and lies that form the foundation of the intergenerational strife Malik has inherited from both sides of his family. Williams’ writing makes explicitly clear to readers the allegories that represent well-grounded concepts of grief, loss, healing, and the otherworldly challenges of being a Black teen in the midst of intergenerational traumas.
A hard-fought happy ending. (author’s note) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2026
ISBN: 9780593712009
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Labyrinth Road
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
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
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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