A page-turning adventure set in a vividly imagined world.
A teen with powerful magic embarks on a life-changing trek through a Jamaican jungle.
Eighteen-year-old Victoria works at Exotic Lands Touring Company, guiding wealthy clients on jungle treks. She is a Wildblood: Her blood science abilities allow her to protect herself and the customers, but despite their powers, Wildbloods are treated as inferior in society. Victoria desperately wants her deserved promotion to team leader, a step toward the freedom she lost when the company kidnapped her as a little girl. Her boss agrees but with conditions attached. Victoria must go on her next expedition with Dean, her light-skinned, White-passing Wildblood ex—who is also the White company owner’s adopted son. And she must impress Black American gold miner Laertes Thorn and his companions on a potentially deadly trip to the Gilded Orchard in search of gold. Victoria is immediately smitten with Thorn, and the feeling is seemingly mutual. Still, she has her plate full between fending off the jungle spirits and creatures and dealing with her hostile, competitive ex. Will she be able to survive this journey, much less explore a romance? And will the promotion be worth it? Blackwood’s worldbuilding combines folklore and fantasy with strong pacing, and the suspense will keep readers intrigued from the outset. Victoria is a sympathetic protagonist with a painful past and a persevering spirit.
A page-turning adventure set in a vividly imagined world. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-78713-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 28, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2022
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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