A fast-paced interdimensional coming-of-age story featuring plenty of jeopardy and japes.
In Lehane’s YA series starter, a wisecracking teenager embarks on a double life as a Conductoid, summoned by a mysterious being to take on a malevolent organization.
Jack McKay is a high school student from a financially struggling family who’s overly fond of daydreaming. When he isn’t dodging detention, arguing with his twin sister Phoebe, or scheming with his best friend Ty, Jack has “incredibly vivid and disturbingly clear” dreams about strange creatures that “leave him drained.” One night, he’s roused out of bed by a neck-tingling sensation, and a mysterious, wizened hooded figure, revealed as Azan the Veriator, appears. He reveals that Jack is a Conductoid—a being capable of channeling power from entities in other dimensions. Through Azan’s guidance, the teen travels to myriad places where he learns how to stop perilous situations from unfolding. Soon, he gains the ability to transform into various animals and harness other superhuman abilities, and he finds his character tested by the difficult events he encounters. As Azan intones, “It is the dreamers of the day who change worlds. They dream with their eyes open.” As Jack’s powers and personality mature, Azan hints at a much darker cosmic threat—a group called the Dominatay, which not only seeks immortality, but may also be linked to the disappearance of the twins’ father long ago. Fans of Lemony Snicket’s work will race through the first installment of this gripping SF thriller series, which features a witty narrator guiding readers through a tale with a colorful cast of characters. Although this style slows the plot at times, the novel ably offers heartwarming life-lessons alongside the humor, with a focus on the power of believing in oneself. Some readers may find the story structure a bit repetitive, and may also find Azan’s reluctance to answer questions to be as frustrating as Jack does. However, the book’s engaging concluding chapters redeem any minor flaws. Occasional line-drawings by Pocock portray major characters and events.
A fast-paced interdimensional coming-of-age story featuring plenty of jeopardy and japes.Pub Date: May 15, 2026
ISBN: 9781763594500
Page Count: 338
Publisher: Pounce Publications
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2026
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
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression.
After surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself.
Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself; her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out; her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply; and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. After spending time in treatment with other young women like her—who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves—Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she "like-likes" but who had pined for Ellis instead. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends. Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a "semifamous" local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. Through intense, diarylike chapters chronicling Charlie's journey, the author captures the brutal and heartbreaking way "girls who write their pain on their bodies" scar and mar themselves, either succumbing or surviving. Like most issue books, this is not an easy read, but it's poignant and transcendent as Charlie breaks more and more before piecing herself back together.
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-93471-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
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