Strong worldbuilding anchored by heartfelt relationships brings a stratified world to life.
What if your worth were determined by your IQ at birth?
As a Limited, someone born with an IQ of less than 1111, 16-year-old Diyala lives with her family in the Burrow, a gigantic subterranean community beneath the city of Quartzia. Her opportunities are few, and her actions are closely monitored by the grotesque and cruel griffin bats, terrifying cloned creatures. Those lucky enough to have scores above 1111 receive golden eyes from the National Iris Center and enjoy the privilege of living aboveground, where they attend better schools, earn more, work less, and are waited upon by Limiteds. After Diyala is caught borrowing books from her employer, Professor al-Azizi, he forces her into indentured servitude by threatening to expose her to the police. Intellectually curious Diyala accidentally enters a math competition disguised by her avatar as a Golden, an experience that offers her a glimmer of hope for escape. But a shocking discovery means Diyala must use her wits to stay alive and keep her family safe. Written by a Syrian author and translated from Arabic, this suspenseful novel is set in the year 2095 on the island of Comoros. Although some dialogue is stiff, the imaginative worldbuilding is captivating, the characters are compelling, and Diyala’s relationships with her family are steadfast. Her budding romance with Raji, a kind, golden-eyed, dark-skinned musician with cute dimples, is tender and sweet.
Strong worldbuilding anchored by heartfelt relationships brings a stratified world to life. (Science fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: April 1, 2025
ISBN: 9781477323359
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Center for Middle Eastern Studies
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters.
When star hockey player Alec Barczewski’s estranged childhood friend, Dani Collins, moves to town, they end up in a mutually beneficial fake-dating relationship that reignites old feelings.
Following her parents’ divorce, Dani and her mom move in with Dani’s hockey legend grandfather in Southview, Minnesota, where she spent a month every summer as a child and where her friendship with Alec grew. Between visits, the two were pen pals, but they eventually fell out of touch. Despite some tensions over their loss of friendship, the high school seniors reconnect. Desperate to get off Harvard’s waitlist, Dani needs another extracurricular activity, while Alec—whose reputation took a hit when a photo of him holding a bong appeared on social media—is eager to improve his tarnished image for NHL scouts. The pair strike a deal: They’ll fake date, making Alec look like a stable guy whose academically gifted girlfriend is related to hockey royalty, and in exchange, he’ll get Dani a team manager position that will catch the eye of Harvard’s admissions officers. Eventually, complicated feelings about their past, stressful family relationships, and their brewing romance boil over. Romance fans will love the deliciously tension-filled scenes between Alec and Dani, who are believable friends with heavy demands weighing on them. They feel like real teenagers, and readers will enjoy rooting for them as the well-paced story unfolds. Main characters present white.
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781665921268
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
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
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