A brisk, thrilling novel of humankind versus nature.
In Fogelberg’s YA fantasy series starter, trees begin attacking and killing humans, and three teens investigate why.
In Derwyn, Pennsylvania, high school junior Flora Reed has been an outcast for a year, ever since she and her sister were struck by lightning. She has strange scars on her skin, but her 14-year-old sister, Fauna, is in a catatonic state. In addition, Flora still struggles with the fact that their scientist father went missing years ago. However, her best friend, Carl Nielsen, convinces her to attend an end-of-the-school-year party to celebrate summer. Three boys there aggressively demand to see Flora’s scars and rip her T-shirt from her body before Carl and his friend Aaron rescue her. The next morning, Flora sees one of the boys that attacked her the night before, hanging from the very tree she and Fauna had climbed before lightning struck. Soon, the other two boys are found dead in the woods, twisted into tree branches. Each boys had an X scratched into his forehead, and then Carl receives a similar mark while running through the woods. Flora, Carl, and Aaron are sure the trees are attacking humans after marking them, but no one believes them. Soon, Flora and the boys must hide from an angry mob, and she starts to suspect that Carl knows more than he’s letting on—and the more she learns about the trees, the more she begins to understand their goal. Over the course of this YA novel, Fogelberg presents an exciting story not only of teens trying to escape the trees themselves, but also townspeople intent on pinning crimes on them. The story delves into classic SF themes regarding environmentalism and humans’ abuse of the planet’s resources, but it feels very original at the same time. Flora’s feelings of being an outsider due to her accident and her family situation feel genuine, and young readers will certainly be able to relate to her anxieties. Overall, it’s a fast-paced, intriguing story that will likely appeal to young and older adults alike and keep them turning pages.
A brisk, thrilling novel of humankind versus nature.Pub Date: March 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-9-19874-760-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Dedaun Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
A spectacular return to a magical world.
Following the events of Impossible Creatures (2024), a devoted Guardian teams up with a brave princess to fight her power-hungry uncle and save the Archipelago’s dragons from a strange new threat.
Jacques the dragon summons Christopher Forrester back to the Archipelago from the human world: Dragons are dying, and no one knows why. Meanwhile, on the island of Dousha, Princess Anya’s grandfather, King Halam, has been murdered, and her father accused—though she knows he’s innocent. When Christopher and Anya take refuge on the islet of Glimt, the Berserker Nighthand helps them see how their twin missions to save the dragons and free Anya’s father are connected. They work together to create an antidote for the poison that’s killing the dragons and to keep Anya and her father safe from her murderous uncle. Meanwhile, Nighthand and Irian, the part-nereid ocean scholar, pursue their own important secret mission. Divided into three parts—“Castle,” “Dragons,” and “Revenge”—and containing elements of fairy tales, fantasy, and Shakespeare, this story continues the storyline established in the series opener, yet because it introduces new characters and obstacles, it could also stand alone. Dark-blond Anya (“five feet tall and all of it claws”) is a match for white-presenting Christopher, who, though he still misses Mal, finds that “it made a difference to have someone to move through the world with again. A friend changed the feel of the universe.” Mackenzie’s delicate, otherworldly art adorns the text.
A spectacular return to a magical world. (map, bestiary) (Fantasy. 10-15)Pub Date: Sept. 11, 2025
ISBN: 9780593809907
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
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