An intriguing premise based on true events fizzles in execution.
A young teen flees London for the States only to find she cannot escape the far-reaching clutches of war.
Thirteen-year-old Beatrice is from an upper-crust family in London. When World War II breaks out, her family sends her to New Mexico under the care of Clem, a nurse. Living in a working-class household, Beatrice brandishes her newly acquired housekeeping skills with pride while hanging out with her friend Arabella. She has also developed a crush on Esteban, a classmate and the son of the housekeeper. On the eve of her birthday, news of the bombing of Pearl Harbor shatters her peace. Clem is summoned to Washington, D.C., to train nurses for war, and Beatrice finds herself living with Arabella and her drama-ridden family. A new classmate, Francis, also whispers of a camp being built nearby meant to imprison Japanese Americans, accused of being spies for Japan. Fearful of conflict, Beatrice must find ways to navigate friendships, her increasingly complex living situation, and growing racial tensions in her community. Beatrice and the majority of characters present white. Esteban and his family are Latinx, and Japanese American Mr. Haiyoko makes an appearance, introducing himself to Beatrice with a cultural gaffe. Characters are one-dimensional, and plot inconsistencies like Beatrice’s extravagant meals despite wartime scarcity stand out.
An intriguing premise based on true events fizzles in execution. (Historical fiction. 11-14)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-932926-76-7
Page Count: 194
Publisher: Kinkajou/Artemisia
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel,...
Adventure drags our heroine all over the map of fantasyland while giving her the opportunity to use her smarts.
Elisa—Princess Lucero-Elisa de Riqueza of Orovalle—has been chosen for Service since the day she was born, when a beam of holy light put a Godstone in her navel. She's a devout reader of holy books and is well-versed in the military strategy text Belleza Guerra, but she has been kept in ignorance of world affairs. With no warning, this fat, self-loathing princess is married off to a distant king and is embroiled in political and spiritual intrigue. War is coming, and perhaps only Elisa's Godstone—and knowledge from the Belleza Guerra—can save them. Elisa uses her untried strategic knowledge to always-good effect. With a character so smart that she doesn't have much to learn, body size is stereotypically substituted for character development. Elisa’s "mountainous" body shrivels away when she spends a month on forced march eating rat, and thus she is a better person. Still, it's wonderfully refreshing to see a heroine using her brain to win a war rather than strapping on a sword and charging into battle.
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel, reminiscent of Naomi Kritzer's Fires of the Faithful (2002), keeps this entry fresh. (Fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-202648-4
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
This is no didactic near-future warning of present evils, but a cinematic adventure featuring endearing, compelling heroes
A gripping thriller in dystopic future Los Angeles.
Fifteen-year-olds June and Day live completely different lives in the glorious Republic. June is rich and brilliant, the only candidate ever to get a perfect score in the Trials, and is destined for a glowing career in the military. She looks forward to the day when she can join up and fight the Republic’s treacherous enemies east of the Dakotas. Day, on the other hand, is an anonymous street rat, a slum child who failed his own Trial. He's also the Republic's most wanted criminal, prone to stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. When tragedies strike both their families, the two brilliant teens are thrown into direct opposition. In alternating first-person narratives, Day and June experience coming-of-age adventures in the midst of spying, theft and daredevil combat. Their voices are distinct and richly drawn, from Day’s self-deprecating affection for others to June's Holmesian attention to detail. All the flavor of a post-apocalyptic setting—plagues, class warfare, maniacal soldiers—escalates to greater complexity while leaving space for further worldbuilding in the sequel.
This is no didactic near-future warning of present evils, but a cinematic adventure featuring endearing, compelling heroes . (Science fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25675-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: April 8, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
BOOK TO SCREEN
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