This pensive sci-fi novel straddles many worlds without quite fitting in any, not unlike the endearing square-peg characters...
When important people leave, emotional holes inevitably remain, voids that can be filled by either new symbiotic or parasitic relationships. Both are explored in this new philosophical contemporary sci-fi from Thomas (Nowhere Near You, 2017).
The Mexican-American Vasquez family of Eustace, New Mexico—mom Maggie, elder brother Hank, middle child Ana, and younger brother Milo—are still reeling from the sudden loss of their father when a mysterious being takes up residence within the three Vasquez siblings. Having originally considered the clan to be one complex organism, Luz (as the children dub their interloper) appropriates Hank’s hands, Ana’s eyes, and Milo’s ears to both observe the surrounding world and to communicate with and among its sibling hosts. But then Luz leaves as well. Chapters of densely metaphorical third-person prose shift focus among the members of the Vasquez clan and eventually to Luz himself, highlighting each character’s unique relationship with the strange being that once occupied their home and their attendant emotional turmoil at his sudden and violent separation. Thomas explores themes of forgiveness, family, friendship, and identity along the way as the Vasquez clan slowly heals from the major rifts in their lives, rifts whose beginnings were set in motion long before the arrival of Luz.
This pensive sci-fi novel straddles many worlds without quite fitting in any, not unlike the endearing square-peg characters at its heart. (Science fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 13, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68119-181-2
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2017
Disappointing.
Unlikely friends fight their growing feelings for each other while placing bets on other people’s love lives.
Bailey met Charlie while flying from Alaska, where she grew up, to Nebraska, where she and her mom would be living after her parents’ divorce. Although they briefly bonded over their parents’ divorces, Charlie’s cynicism grated on the rule-following Bailey, and she was thankful to part ways with him. Three years later, to Bailey’s dismay, she runs into Charlie when they both land jobs at Planet Funnn, a mega-hotel that’s “like a giant landlocked cruise ship.” This time around, Bailey and Charlie begin to get along better. To entertain themselves during their long shifts, they observe and make bets about the hotel guests. But they risk taking it too far when they bet on whether their co-worker Theo will end up with Nekesa, Bailey’s best friend, who’s in “a perfect relationship with the perfect guy.” The book explores Bailey’s conflicted feelings toward her mom’s new relationship with Scott (who doesn’t “do anything wrong” but whose presence changes “the vibe” at home), but it does so in a way that diminishes a primary source of conflict. Bailey's and Charlie’s feelings become even more complicated when Charlie helps Bailey with a fake-dating scheme intended to scare Scott off. Some of the banter between the leads, who are coded white, feels more aggressive than playful, detracting from their intimacy, and the circuitous plot may fail to sustain readers’ interest.
Disappointing. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 28, 2023
ISBN: 9781665921237
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations.
Magic, mystery, and love intertwine and invite in this newest take on the “enchanted circus” trope.
Sisters raised by their abusive father, a governor of a colonial backwater in a world vaguely reminiscent of the late 18th century, Scarlett and Donatella each long for something more. Scarlett, olive-skinned, dark of hair and attitude, longs for Caraval, the fabled, magical circus helmed by the possibly evil Master Legend Santos, while blonde, sunny Tella finds comfort in drink and the embraces of various men. A slightly awkward start, with inconsistencies of attitude and setting, rapidly smooths out when they, along with handsome “golden-brown” sailor Julian, flee to Caraval on the eve of Scarlett’s arranged marriage. Tella disappears, and Scarlett must navigate a nighttime world of magic to find her. Caraval delights the senses: beautiful and scary, described in luscious prose, this is a show readers will wish they could enter. Dresses can be purchased for secrets or days of life; clocks can become doors; bridges move: this is an inventive and original circus, laced with an edge of horror. A double love story, one sensual romance and the other sisterly loyalty, anchors the plot, but the real star here is Caraval and its secrets.
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-09525-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
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