Cast’s fans should find much to be pleased with in this new venture.
The lives of three disparate young people collide in this post-apocalyptic fantasy.
Eighteen-year-old Mari should succeed her mother as the healer of the matriarchal Earth Walkers but for her father’s blood that also courses through her veins, a secret that the blonde, pale-skinned girl and her dark-skinned mother go to great lengths to conceal. Twenty-three-year-old blond, pale-skinned Nik, who hails from a rival people known for enslaving Mari’s, should become Sun Priest of the Tribe when his father retires, but he has yet to be chosen as a Companion by a canine. Dead Eye, a 21-year-old mutant Skin Stealer, is a rebel, a self-proclaimed God with gruesome vision for the future of his people. In this series kickoff, Cast weaves together the stories of Mari, Nik, and Dead Eye, offering readers a new fantasy world steeped in magic that’s grounded by a hodgepodge of tropes ranging from Greek mythology to New Age mysticism. The intersection of Mari’s and Nik’s stories dominates the hefty novel. Readers will enjoy watching these two characters, who share a palpable chemistry, come into their own. Dead Eye’s story is far more disturbing, portending a darkness that will become more prevalent in future installments. While Cast is a bit heavy-handed spelling it out for readers, at its core this is a story about embracing and finding strength in difference. Though skin is vital to the story, modern racial categories do not seem to exist.
Cast’s fans should find much to be pleased with in this new venture. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-250-10072-6
Page Count: 608
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016
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
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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