A promising debut that lacks unity but showcases mountains of glorious imagination.
It’s illegal for 16-year-old tinker’s assistant Kellan DuCuivre to use the metal-carving magic of makecraft on her own, but it’s worth the risk to save her mentor.
Kellan, a Black girl, is the descendant of traitors to Nanseau, someone regarded as being among the lowest members of society in the city of Riz. But when she impresses Madame Minora Mesny, a courtier and Master Engineer in makecraft, Kellan’s life is transformed. She accepts Mesny’s offer to become her apprentice and so breaks generations of tradition and law forbidding people of her status from rising up. Orphaned Kellan dreams of finding a cure to help her ailing guardian, Edgar, but the dangers surrounding her unlikely ascent are heightened by a mysterious, encroaching darkness that makes people disappear…or worse. In order to triumph, Kellan must navigate the cruelties of both the darkness and high society. She’ll have to unpack years of trauma carved into the very fabric of her existence. The worldbuilding is strong, with complex connections and a robust history for readers to delve into as they adventure with Kellan and her friends. This steampunk version of New Orleans is recognizable in the quarters that make up Riz and the twists of the bayous beyond the city. The magic gets lost when it’s time to knit the characters and their interactions together, however: Their profiles are distinct but not cohesive, and some of the camaraderie feels forced.
A promising debut that lacks unity but showcases mountains of glorious imagination. (map) (Fantasy. 13-18)Pub Date: Oct. 29, 2024
ISBN: 9780063296435
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2024
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 lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
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