An often-exhilarating adventure tale enlivened by battles, suspense, and diabolical villains.
A ragtag group braves a perilous land to find and deliver a valuable stone in Daniels’ YA fantasy novel, which kicks off a prospective trilogy.
After escaping the Field of Flame, a 15-year-old enslaved boy named Bastien runs into an “outfit” of Hunters comprised of three marauder brothers and father-and-son “pyromancers,” led by Landan o’Carreau. They invite Bastien to join them on their quest through the land of Valaan for a Lord Stone. After they find it, they travel north to get to the port town of Seasgain, where a buyer will pay a veritable fortune for it. Sadly, dissension seeps into the hunting party, as some want to sell the stone elsewhere. Then, one morning, Bastien wakes up with the pebble clenched in his hand, and he has no idea how it got there. He frets over covertly returning it to Landan’s chest, where it was originally kept. However, a sudden confrontation ends up splitting up the group up, sending them in shocking directions. Daniels eases readers into a story that’s already underway. Characters are introduced organically, with personality traits gradually coming to light, such as “yellowgut” marauder Symon Cadderall’s cowardly tendencies. The tension-filled narrative pits Bastien and company against Red Wardens from the Field of Flame, a cannibalistic megalomaniac, and other unnerving creatures who are responsible for a fair amount of violence and death. All the while, the author delivers vivid prose that effectively sets scenes: “In the front of the church grounds there once stood a statue of the Mother Aegatta atop a pedestal but it was shattered now. There remained only the white stone feet and legs of the fallen goddess, cut down at the waist and overgrown with creeping snakevine.” Unexpected plot turns ultimately put Bastien on a path that could lead him into darkness, giving readers plenty of incentive to watch out for sequels.
An often-exhilarating adventure tale enlivened by battles, suspense, and diabolical villains.Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2024
ISBN: 9798336031577
Page Count: 346
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Nov. 20, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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 heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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