A deftly told and richly detailed novel about coming of age in a place you don’t quite belong.
In Jackson’s debut YA novel, a teenage immigrant to Australia seeks his path against a chaotic backdrop of politics and religion.
Like most 16-year-olds, the kid (who remains unnamed in the text)is in a period of transition. He was born in southern Lebanon, and his Christian family moved to Sydney in 2006 to escape the war. The loss of the family’s land still haunts his father, but the kid and his older brother, Basim—who recently dropped out of high school to work in a mechanic shop—are more interested in hip-hop, street racing, and, increasingly, Friday night prayers at the local mosque (the last of which they keep secret from their father). While walking home from the mosque one night, the kid encounters Issi, an Australian-born graffiti artist his same age. The two begin meeting up every day of the summer break, and Issi encourages the kid to pursue his own artistic inclinations. “It gives you a good feeling,” she tells him. “To create something. Something meaningful. Even if it’s just for yourself.” Their casual friendship soon blossoms into something more, but their relationship runs up against the expectations of their respective families and is threatened by the complicated manner in which religion, politics, and youthful disillusionment have come to manifest in the kid’s immigrant community. With Issi’s help, the kid may finally find the identity he’s long searched for—but he will lose some things in the process. Jackson’s ornate prose casts whatever it touches in a mythic light. Here, the author describes a gang of nativist Australians’ antagonistic response to the muezzin’s call to prayer: “It was a rallying cry for those whose afternoons had already begun to take the turn towards the particular and particularly pernicious styles of disappointment…to take up the cudgels in pharisaic solidarity with other true blue patriots and strike out at a common enemy, a despised intruder.” As Jackson fills out the surprisingly large cast of characters making up the kid’s world, this initially quiet novel takes on an increasingly wide societal scope.
A deftly told and richly detailed novel about coming of age in a place you don’t quite belong.Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9798308922872
Page Count: 270
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A contemporary hero’s journey, brilliantly told.
The 17-year-old son of a troubled rock star is determined to find his own way in life and love.
On the verge of adulthood, Blade Morrison wants to leave his father’s bad-boy reputation for drug-and-alcohol–induced antics and his sister’s edgy lifestyle behind. The death of his mother 10 years ago left them all without an anchor. Named for the black superhero, Blade shares his family’s connection to music but resents the paparazzi that prevent him from having an open relationship with the girl that he loves. However, there is one secret even Blade is unaware of, and when his sister reveals the truth of his heritage during a bitter fight, Blade is stunned. When he finally gains some measure of equilibrium, he decides to investigate, embarking on a search that will lead him to a small, remote village in Ghana. Along the way, he meets people with a sense of purpose, especially Joy, a young Ghanaian who helps him despite her suspicions of Americans. This rich novel in verse is full of the music that forms its core. In addition to Alexander and co-author Hess’ skilled use of language, references to classic rock songs abound. Secondary characters add texture to the story: does his girlfriend have real feelings for Blade? Is there more to his father than his inability to stay clean and sober? At the center is Blade, fully realized and achingly real in his pain and confusion.
A contemporary hero’s journey, brilliantly told. (Verse fiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-310-76183-9
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Blink
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2017
PERSPECTIVES
A timely and unabashedly feminist twist on a classic fairy tale.
Sixteen-year-old Bisou Martel’s life takes a profound turn after encountering an aggressive wolf.
Following an embarrassing incident between Bisou and her boyfriend, James, after the homecoming dance, a humiliated Bisou runs into the Pacific Northwest woods. There, she kills a giant wolf who viciously attacks her, upending the quiet life she’s lived with her Mémé, a poet, since her mother’s violent death. The next day it’s revealed that her classmate Tucker— who drunkenly came on to her at the dance—was found dead in the woods with wounds identical to the ones Bisou inflicted on the wolf. When she rescues Keisha, an outspoken journalist for the school paper, from a similar wolf attack, Bisou gains an ally, and her Mémé reveals her bloody and brave legacy, which is inextricably tied to the moon and her menstrual cycle. Bisou needs her new powers in the coming days, as more wolves lie in wait. Arnold (Damsel, 2018, etc.) uses an intriguing blend of magic realism, lyrical prose, and imagery that evokes intimate physical and emotional aspects of young womanhood. Bisou’s loving relationship with gentle, kind James contrasts with the frank exploration of male entitlement and the disturbing incel phenomenon. Bisou and Mémé seem to be white, Keisha is cued as black, James has light-brown skin and black eyes, and there is diversity in the supporting cast.
A timely and unabashedly feminist twist on a classic fairy tale. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-274235-3
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
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