While the adrenaline rush will draw readers in, it’s the unsettling question posed by the program title that will linger.
In an idea-packed near-future thriller, reality TV pits teens against increasingly deadly virtual traps.
Amy Kent is only 16, and she’s bone-weary of the responsibility of supporting her resentful younger sister and terminally ill Gran. But the global economic collapse has left most people in desperate straits, so when Amy gets a chance for good pay with family medical benefits, she grabs at it despite her doubts. As one of seven teenagers on Who Knows People, Baby—You?, she is under constant camera surveillance that allows viewers to compete to predict how each cast member will respond to unexpected situations. But as ratings pressures and political tensions mount, the scenarios become more dangerous, and Amy and the rest become less and less certain of what is staged, what is real and whom to trust. The theme of corrupt adults manipulating youth into violence and death to entertain a decadent audience will inevitably invite comparisons to the Hunger Games trilogy, as will the breakneck, twisty plot. The day-after-tomorrow setting, anchored by brand-name allusions and crises ripped from the headlines, adds both eerie familiarity and terrifying plausibility. Most striking, though, is the complex characterization, with its emphatic insistence that no one—hero or villain—is anything less than a complicated mixture of good and bad, strength and weakness, compassion and selfishness.
While the adrenaline rush will draw readers in, it’s the unsettling question posed by the program title that will linger. (Science fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Nov. 8, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-670-01247-3
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2012
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 delicious winter romance that shimmers with classic fairy-tale magic.
An 18-year-old’s encounter with the pale, mysterious, golden-eyed Starmaker transforms her from hamlet girl to magical apprentice.
Aurora Finch discovers she possesses the rare ability to channel sunlight—magic essential to the survival of snow-covered Reverie, her mountain village, “with peaks so high the Sun [cannot] rise above them.” Now she faces a harsh choice: Leave everything behind to train at the Starmaker’s enchanted castle or die as the untapped magic destroys her from within. Griffin excels at worldbuilding; the story is filled with elements and characters that feel both whimsical and real, from Tilly, a living snow angel who’s searching for herself, to Constance, an immortal rabbit. As the antagonism between Aurora and the cold, centuries-old Starmaker melts, their love story, which forms the heart of this tale, crackles with tension. Aurora emerges as a compelling hero—stubborn and brave—who refuses to be diminished by the overwhelming responsibilities thrust upon her. The romantic storyline proves both strong and emotionally involving as the author brings fresh twists to familiar elements, exploring the power of stories and how they shape our understanding of the world. White-presenting Aurora faces a devastating truth that creates urgency and heightens the emotional stakes that drive the story to its conclusion. This satisfying, sparkling fantasy will capture hearts with its well-developed setting and captivating love story.
A delicious winter romance that shimmers with classic fairy-tale magic. (author’s note) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 17, 2026
ISBN: 9781728256184
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
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