A slow story of a dysfunctional dynasty with little plot but a lot of plotting.
Internecine squabbles fill this first book in a series.
Returning to Ireland after an African adventure, 18-year-old Nathaniel Wildenstern captures and tames the Beast of Glenmalure, a motorcyclelike “engimal” (mechanical animal), intending to ride home in glory. But his brother Marcus’ “accidental” death and the explosion at Marcus’ burial force Nate to assume (unwanted) responsibility and attract (warranted) suspicion. Tasked with learning the family business, Nate ignores paperwork in favor of finding Marcus’ killer. Their near-superhuman healing abilities make Wildensterns hard to kill, but their prodigious wealth and nigh-royal power make them targets—among one another and for their impoverished tenant farmers as well as four long-lost Wildensterns. Nate and his fellow young protagonists share the narrative spotlight in dizzying and unsignaled succession, yet they are underdeveloped and often unsympathetic. Sparse historical details, slow pacing, and a claustrophobic setting make this more austere science fiction than spirited steampunk; an unnecessary heist subplot complicates but barely contributes to the story. While Nate uncovers Marcus’ killer, the mysterious origins of the engimals and the Wildensterns’ healing powers wait to be resolved in the sequels. Despite intense action sequences and comic-relief robots, McGann’s focus on tradition, power, and primogeniture makes this a read that may appeal more to adults than teenagers.
A slow story of a dysfunctional dynasty with little plot but a lot of plotting. (Science fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 11, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4976-6570-5
Page Count: 412
Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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