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
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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