In this dumbed-down dystopia, noble ends, vague notions of “freedom,” trump any amount of collateral damage, excruciatingly...
This uneven trilogy ends with plenty of violent action, leaving tough questions on the table.
Acing the application process, Alenna wins a spot with Liam and Gadya on the first team dispatched from Island Alpha, aka “the wheel,” to retake the United Northern Alliance (Canada, the United States and Mexico, all fused in a totalitarian state). Separated from allies, Alenna’s sent to the Hellgrounds, scientific labs concealed in bucolic New Iowa, where scientists carry out unspeakable experiments on drugged human subjects and build monstrous cyborgs. These focused action scenes, Stasse’s strength, deliver suspense and surprise. But the narrative rationale for the UNA, intent on world domination, is weak, sketchily borrowed from some drab, Soviet-era archetype. Unimaginative worldbuilding doesn’t help; place names are familiar U.S. versions with “New” tacked on in front (no rationale’s offered for “New Venezuela”). Crime and punishment can’t happen 24/7; someone has to mind the store. How do ordinary citizens live? What do they think is happening? Alenna and company, childishly self-absorbed, sidestep war’s harsh realities; the costs of victory and defeat are borne by disposable characters. Gadya’s gratuitous violence doesn’t recoil on her; Alenna’s passing regrets don’t lead her to change course.
In this dumbed-down dystopia, noble ends, vague notions of “freedom,” trump any amount of collateral damage, excruciatingly detailed, in human lives. (Dystopian adventure. 12-18)Pub Date: July 8, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-3271-0
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
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
Exactly what the title promises.
A grieving teen’s devotion to romance films might ruin her chances at actual romance.
Liz Buxbaum has always adored rom-coms, not least for helping her still feel close to her screenwriter mother, who died when she was little. Liz hopes that her senior year might turn into a real-life romantic fantasy, as an old crush has moved back to town, cuter and nicer than ever. Surely she can get Michael to ask her to prom. If only Wes, the annoying boy next door, would help her with her scheming! This charming, fluffy concoction manages to pack into one goofy plot every conceivable trope, from fake dating to the makeover to the big misunderstanding. Creative, quirky, daydreaming Liz is just shy of an annoying stereotype, saved by a dry wit and unresolved grief and anger. Wes makes for a delightful bad boy with a good heart, and supporting characters—including a sassy best friend, a perfect popular rival, even a (not really) evil stepmother—all get the opportunity to transcend their roles. The only villain here is Liz’s lovelorn imagination, provoking her into foolish lies that cause actual hurt feelings; but she is sufficiently self-aware to make amends just in time for the most important trope of all: a blissfully happy ending. All characters seem to be White by default.
Exactly what the title promises. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6762-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK TO SCREEN
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