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 prototypical survival story: after an airplane crash, a 13-year-old city boy spends two months alone in the Canadian wilderness. In transit between his divorcing parents, Brian is the plane's only passenger. After casually showing him how to steer, the pilot has a heart attack and dies. In a breathtaking sequence, Brian maneuvers the plane for hours while he tries to think what to do, at last crashing as gently and levelly as he can manage into a lake. The plane sinks; all he has left is a hatchet, attached to his belt. His injuries prove painful but not fundamental. In time, he builds a shelter, experiments with berries, finds turtle eggs, starts a fire, makes a bow and arrow to catch fish and birds, and makes peace with the larger wildlife. He also battles despair and emerges more patient, prepared to learn from his mistakes—when a rogue moose attacks him and a fierce storm reminds him of his mortality, he's prepared to make repairs with philosophical persistence. His mixed feelings surprise him when the plane finally surfaces so that he can retrieve the survival pack; and then he's rescued. Plausible, taut, this is a spellbinding account. Paulsen's staccato, repetitive style conveys Brian's stress; his combination of third-person narrative with Brian's interior monologue pulls the reader into the story. Brian's angst over a terrible secret—he's seen his mother with another man—is undeveloped and doesn't contribute much, except as one item from his previous life that he sees in better perspective, as a result of his experience. High interest, not hard to read. A winner.
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1987
ISBN: 1416925082
Page Count: -
Publisher: Bradbury
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1987
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
