A quiet, enjoyable fantasy with a dark twist.
Yuki Snow, an aspiring writer and poet in contemporary California, literally escapes her problems through a magic mirror to imperial Japan.
Ever since her father’s death, 12-year-old Yuki, who’s Japanese and white, has struggled. A recent move up to the coast away from the San Fernando Valley only compounds her troubles, leaving her resentful toward her mom and stepdad. Julio Garcia-Jones, her best friend back in the Valley, seems ready to replace her, and everyone at her new school is less than welcoming. But Yuki finds a friend in Momo Fujita, the elderly owner of a Japanese store who shows her an antique mirror with a fascinating history. It’s rumored to have belonged to Sei Shōnagon, a legendary writer and lady-in-waiting who lived in the Japanese imperial court more than 1,000 years ago; once every century, she invites a young girl through the mirror into her world. One particularly terrible day, when Yuki looks into the mirror and sees Sei Shōnagon beckoning her, she steps through the portal. Initially, Yuki feels like she’s hit the jackpot—she’ll get to compete for the position of high priestess of poetry! But Beck gradually and deftly reveals the cracks hinting at a sinister truth behind the court’s magical dazzle. While the conclusion leaves lingering questions, they don’t take away from the book’s overall allure thanks to the strong worldbuilding. An author’s note includes sources and information about the real Shōnagon.
A quiet, enjoyable fantasy with a dark twist. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: May 28, 2024
ISBN: 9780063238244
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
A deeply imaginative journey that puts the “cat” in cathartic.
A loyal black kitten’s boy is under supernatural attack.
Eleven-month-old Nimbus loves Fletcher, the boy who nursed her back to health following life-threatening injuries. When Fletcher becomes curious about a strange jar and opens it, releasing a terrible goblin, loyal Nim protects Fletcher, taking heavy damage in the process. But Fletcher’s aunt, who’s caring for him over spring break, believes Nim attacked Fletcher and dumps her far from home. Rhett, a stylish rat with star quality, befriends injured Nim and leads her to a witch’s house. While the witch cares for Nim, the witch’s cats (maternal Fern, bookish Rochester, standoffish Bianca, and openly hostile Abraxas) teach Nim important cat skills. She also discovers she has a supernatural ability: In destroying one eye of the nightmare demon in the fight to protect Fletcher, Nim gained its “dream sight.” But she also learns it might come back for Fletcher, who no longer has Nim to protect him, posing a time-sensitive, high-stakes threat. Even though the witch’s home is nice and magic itself seems to be telling her to stay put, Nim wants to find a way back to Fletcher. As a hero, Nimbus is as gritty and determined as she is adorable. Tear-jerker moments explore pet abandonment—readers may want their own pets on hand to hug—all the way through the magical, action-packed finale. Fletcher and the witch read white.
A deeply imaginative journey that puts the “cat” in cathartic. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9780062680372
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
A successful call for creating and imagining, even if the story itself falls short.
In the dystopian, totalitarian world of 2099, 14-year-old Tessa and her family are desperate to solve the mystery of her twin brother Theo’s disappearance.
Tessa is growing up in a time when playgrounds are historical relics, surveillance cameras are everywhere, music is outlawed, and owning books is illegal. Under the absolute rule of Zokiris, the decadeslong leader of her territory, people are heavily controlled. When Theo vanishes under mysterious circumstances and his name is erased from the Territory Statistics list, Tessa’s 135-year-old neighbor, Miriam, gives the family contraband books that become central to figuring out Theo’s whereabouts. Most books have long since been seized and stored away in Building 903; Tessa is intrigued by their presence in her home, while her mother is terrified. Lowry, the acclaimed, award-winning author of The Giver (1993), shines in her creation of uncomfortably believable dystopian societies. Tessa’s painfully limited world is fully imagined, with its own history, laws, and norms. Her relationship with her brother reads as realistic and tender and is crucial to the mystery. Miriam is the most strongly developed character: wise and independent, unafraid and hopeful. While the climb to the book’s climax is captivating, the hurried resolution is disappointing. The powerful messaging around the importance of literature and imagination certainly resonates, however. The main characters present white.
A successful call for creating and imagining, even if the story itself falls short. (Dystopian. 9-12)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
ISBN: 9780063515109
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
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