An important story to tell, but the execution could have been more polished.
This third series entry continues the story of the Ukrainian Popkov family: twins Dariia and Rada and their father and mother.
Rada and her mother are now refugees, sheltering in a ski village in the Carpathian Mountains and slowly rebuilding their lives, but Dariia is missing and their father has been captured by the Russians. The book opens in November 2022 with Rada’s point of view. She learns that Dariia is still alive, living near Moscow with a Russian family who treat her “like a prisoner and a servant” (this information was revealed in the first book). Rada and her mom begin plotting how to get her out. The book provides much detail about the tight community the refugees form as they cook and eat together and celebrate holidays in traditional Ukrainian fashion. The second half is told from Dariia’s point of view after she’s been rescued. The sisters are grateful to be together again but occasionally snipe at each other like ordinary siblings. Character building isn’t this story’s strong suit, however: The twins don’t come across as two distinct people, and the dialogue is flat and doesn’t fully convey the characters’ emotions. This work emphasizes the sovereignty of the Ukrainian people and, crucially, shines a light on their plight, but repetitive elements undercut the tension.
An important story to tell, but the execution could have been more polished. (author’s note, maps) (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: April 21, 2026
ISBN: 9781546104599
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2026
A thrilling first installment in an adventurous new series.
An orphaned street urchin is recruited into an elite school for thieves.
In an alternate world where France is the dominant world power, 13-year-old Tom Morgan has had to scrimp, starve, and steal on the streets of London to survive. Born into a workhouse, he doesn’t know anything about his father, while his mother may have been from North Africa. One thing he does know is the sort of cruelty that awaits the poor who are sent to the workhouse, and he’s determined not to go back. But when their camp is raided and his friends are captured by workhouse agents, the only thing Tom can think of is how to get them out. Enter the Corsair, a cunning and mysterious man with a proposition: He wants to recruit Tom into Beaufort’s School for Deceptive Arts. From nabbing treasures to forging identity papers, Beaufort’s promises to teach Tom everything he needs to know to become a Shadow Thief and a member of the Shadow League, the secret global organization that helps keep the world’s political power in balance. But Beaufort’s has its own rules and secrets, and if Tom is to survive long enough to help his friends, he’ll need to figure them out quickly. Clever and gripping, this fast-paced boarding school story will appeal to fans of the Mysterious Benedict Society and Spy School series.
A thrilling first installment in an adventurous new series. (Adventure. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9781665982283
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
Some readers may feel that the resolution comes a mite too easily, but most will enjoy the journey and be pleased when...
Two sisters make an unauthorized expedition to their former hometown and in the process bring together the two parts of their divided family.
Dooley packs plenty of emotion into this eventful road trip, which takes place over the course of less than 24 hours. Twelve-year-old Ophelia, nicknamed Fella, and her 16-year-old sister, Zoey Grace, aka Zany, are the daughters of a lesbian couple, Shannon and Lacy, who could not legally marry. The two white girls squabble and share memories as they travel from West Virginia to Asheville, North Carolina, where Zany is determined to scatter Mama Lacy’s ashes in accordance with her wishes. The year is 2004, before the Supreme Court decision on gay marriage, and the girls have been separated by hostile, antediluvian custodial laws. Fella’s present-tense narration paints pictures not just of the difficulties they face on the trip (a snowstorm, car trouble, and an unlikely thief among them), but also of their lives before Mama Lacy’s illness and of the ways that things have changed since then. Breathless and engaging, Fella’s distinctive voice is convincingly childlike. The conversations she has with her sister, as well as her insights about their relationship, likewise ring true. While the girls face serious issues, amusing details and the caring adults in their lives keep the tone relatively light.
Some readers may feel that the resolution comes a mite too easily, but most will enjoy the journey and be pleased when Fella’s family figures out how to come together in a new way . (Historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: April 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-16504-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Jan. 31, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
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