A superhero series opener that should work quick, indelible magic on audiences.
A YA fantasy features an underprivileged teen who starts displaying fantastic powers.
In this first installment of a series, young Marc Mondragon of Rifle, Colorado, is dirt poor. He and his mother, Jenny, struggle in the absence of his fireman father, who died. Making life worse are two thin bumps on his shoulder blades that might be cancerous and Deputy Brandwhite, who chases him for graffiti he didn’t spray. Marc has also been experiencing haunting dreams about a creature “speaking fire.” One day, after a night of pursuit by the deputy—which led the teen to an odd-smelling drainage pipe—Marc makes himself a grilled cheese sandwich. When he uses the wrong portion of the electric stovetop, he burns his hand but feels no pain. In his excitement, he bikes to the diner where Jenny works to show her. Elsewhere, the wealthy James Leopold Drakesel fears for his family’s legacy. He’s contracted the coldblooded Stone Stajinkski to kill numerous children who pose some sort of threat. Marc, meanwhile, encounters a cocky young skater named Steve Yabloka, who offers to get him a new skateboard. Later Marc learns that Steve is like him, impervious to flame, and even able to control it. It turns out that they both belong to the Dragonkyn. Crafting a sure-footed fantasy with familiar elements, Jones (Boy Who Ate America, 2007) grips readers with brisk pacing and a winning mythos. He also excels in portraying the teen traumas of acne, bullies, and classroom crushes, all underlined by an X-Men–style barrage of superpowers, including telekinesis and Firespew (spouting fire). Evocative prose lifts the narrative above the average coming-of-age action fantasy (“In his very pores a new relationship was forming with the gaseous alien called fire”). Throughout, Jones uses a substance called lix, which Dragonkyn drink from a canteen as a supposed performance enhancer, to warn against teen alcohol abuse. Agile storytelling allows readers to see the threat of rogue Dragonkyn in New York City and potentially elsewhere in future installments. A blowout ending should ensure readers will return.
A superhero series opener that should work quick, indelible magic on audiences.Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4621-1978-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Cedar Fort
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Well-drawn characters and playful twists keep this thriller fully charged.
This YA SF novel features a teen who must halt a virus that will kill two-thirds of humanity.
In Silver Oak, Maryland, Alice Sherman is a high school junior enjoying lunch near her campus basketball court. With her is Archie, her brother, a senior and science prodigy who likes equations more than his fellow students. Alice has been Archie’s one true friend since their mother left six years ago. Alice is about to catch up with Lalana Bunyasarn, her best friend, when a sudden “streak of electricity zaps through” her head. The agony intensifies until a Voice enters Alice’s mind, asking her, “Do you want this pain to stop?” The Voice then instructs her to go up to Bandit Sakda, a classmate playing basketball, and say that she loves him. Bandit is a beautiful Thai boy who’s talented and arrogant. Strangely, the Voice calls her Malice and says not to fall for him because “it’ll only make what you have to do later harder.” Eventually, Alice learns that the Voice belongs to someone from 10 years in the future who needs help saving humanity. A virus will be created by a person Alice knows that will wipe out two-thirds of the world population. Following the Voice’s directions can save everyone—except the person Alice is ordered to kill. Dunn’s (Star-Crossed, 2018, etc.) latest YA adventure offers increasingly tantalizing twists that gleam in succession like nested matryoshka dolls. Alice will charm readers with her quirks, especially her devotion to Chris Hemsworth of Marvel’s Avengers films. Tension builds as characters in the large cast, including crushworthy Zeke Cain and the brilliant Cristela Ruiz, become potential targets for Alice’s mission. Details about Thai culture add a splendid dimension to the narrative; for example, Bandit is pronounced “bun-dit” and means “one who is wise.” While the notion of a high school killer may not sit well with some, the author doesn’t use the device lightly. Her book takes a strong anti-bullying stance, doing so through an entertaining narrative that doesn’t resort to preaching. The author’s heart and craftiness make a sequel welcome.
Well-drawn characters and playful twists keep this thriller fully charged.Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-64063-412-1
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Any moral that may be gleaned from the tangled narrative is buried in confusion. (Fantasy. YA)
A convoluted fantasy offering a series of morals about justice, mercy, human treatment of animals and human treatment of other humans.
A cluster of animals have been educated by a World War II veteran and his activist wife. The animals, a now-vegetarian mix of carnivores, herbivores and omnivores, live in harmony on Cloudburst Mountain. Following their scriptures (the Bible, Animal Farm and judgments such as “Humans Are Evil”), they plan for the day when they will kill all the humans and rule the world. The tale follows the adventures of their coyote prophet Justice and human ally Cody as they travel the United States preparing other animals for “The Rebellion.” Though they meet mostly repellent, violent humans and mistreated animals, they also encounter enough well-meaning, victimized humans to make Cody question his alliance with the cause of human genocide. Meanwhile, the grandson of the original human missionaries to the animals threatens the entire endeavor as he plans to mine the mountain for uranium. Ultimately, the animals succeed in murdering the vast majority of the human race, giving them hope for a shining new day. This overly complex tale is dense with purple prose and far too many extraneous characters–for example, Gordon “Raindance” Fell, the Shadow Shaman of the Pokihallah tribe; and Forest Victor, who appears for the first time late in the story, saying of his never-mentioned-before dead wife, “if only her hatred of the evil deeds of the baby seal killers hadn’t drawn her and her cameras into a combative stance.”
Any moral that may be gleaned from the tangled narrative is buried in confusion. (Fantasy. YA)Pub Date: June 21, 2006
ISBN: 0-595-39274-1
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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