by M. Quint ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 15, 2015
A quirky, fast-moving sea odyssey with a diverse and well-realized cast.
Six students at a San Francisco middle school for misfits become an unlikely crew of seafarers after a disaster.
The adventure begins on a field trip to a historic ship called the Defiant. The sky lights up with lightning bolts and a flash of pink, destroying San Francisco as we know it. This seemingly supernatural event sends the students, sans adults, to sea. Gabriel, who lives in a group home, and Esme, who has been living with a neglectful aunt, become de facto group leaders, but as the group learns to fish, sail, stand lookout, and otherwise take care of one another, a palpable sense of family develops. Their journey brings them into contact with several other newly formed groups of kids (whatever the pink flashes were, no adults survived them) ranging in character from an exaggeratedly egalitarian society that would starve before ending a meeting to a group of science award–winners who would rather communicate on Bluetooth-like devices than talk face to face. The pink flashes are never explained, and the ending offers only a little resolution, but the heart of the story is the crew, a diverse group whose interactions and dialogue are sharply insightful and often comic, each of whom grows up appreciably as the story unfolds.
A quirky, fast-moving sea odyssey with a diverse and well-realized cast. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-936365-54-8
Page Count: 352
Publisher: McSweeney’s
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
Share your opinion of this book
by Rae Carson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2011
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel,...
Adventure drags our heroine all over the map of fantasyland while giving her the opportunity to use her smarts.
Elisa—Princess Lucero-Elisa de Riqueza of Orovalle—has been chosen for Service since the day she was born, when a beam of holy light put a Godstone in her navel. She's a devout reader of holy books and is well-versed in the military strategy text Belleza Guerra, but she has been kept in ignorance of world affairs. With no warning, this fat, self-loathing princess is married off to a distant king and is embroiled in political and spiritual intrigue. War is coming, and perhaps only Elisa's Godstone—and knowledge from the Belleza Guerra—can save them. Elisa uses her untried strategic knowledge to always-good effect. With a character so smart that she doesn't have much to learn, body size is stereotypically substituted for character development. Elisa’s "mountainous" body shrivels away when she spends a month on forced march eating rat, and thus she is a better person. Still, it's wonderfully refreshing to see a heroine using her brain to win a war rather than strapping on a sword and charging into battle.
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel, reminiscent of Naomi Kritzer's Fires of the Faithful (2002), keeps this entry fresh. (Fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-202648-4
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
Share your opinion of this book
More In The Series
More by Rae Carson
BOOK REVIEW
by Rae Carson
BOOK REVIEW
by Rae Carson
BOOK REVIEW
by Rae Carson
by Marie Lu ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 29, 2011
This is no didactic near-future warning of present evils, but a cinematic adventure featuring endearing, compelling heroes
A gripping thriller in dystopic future Los Angeles.
Fifteen-year-olds June and Day live completely different lives in the glorious Republic. June is rich and brilliant, the only candidate ever to get a perfect score in the Trials, and is destined for a glowing career in the military. She looks forward to the day when she can join up and fight the Republic’s treacherous enemies east of the Dakotas. Day, on the other hand, is an anonymous street rat, a slum child who failed his own Trial. He's also the Republic's most wanted criminal, prone to stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. When tragedies strike both their families, the two brilliant teens are thrown into direct opposition. In alternating first-person narratives, Day and June experience coming-of-age adventures in the midst of spying, theft and daredevil combat. Their voices are distinct and richly drawn, from Day’s self-deprecating affection for others to June's Holmesian attention to detail. All the flavor of a post-apocalyptic setting—plagues, class warfare, maniacal soldiers—escalates to greater complexity while leaving space for further worldbuilding in the sequel.
This is no didactic near-future warning of present evils, but a cinematic adventure featuring endearing, compelling heroes . (Science fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25675-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: April 8, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
Share your opinion of this book
More About This Book
BOOK TO SCREEN
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
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.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.