Here concludes O'Dell's dazzling drama of the temptation, fall, and redemption of Julian Escobar, the 16th-century Spanish seminarian who came in The Captive to rule a New World island as the Mayan god Kukulcan. Having witnessed the fall of Moctezuma in The Feathered Serpent, Julian returns to prepare the defense of his own island against the inevitable coming of Cortes. But Julian's dwarf companion deserts him with their ship filled with Aztec gold; the island falls to Cortes without a struggle; and Julian, escaping, becomes a solitary wanderer, wearing the amethyst ring of a captured Spanish bishop Julian had allowed his Mayan priest to kill after the bishop refused to ordain Julian. He stays in a nearby village until the gold-hungry Spanish come and kill its friendly cacique. Traveling south, he sells woven hats at a market stall and is disheartened when an African child he has bought and set free dies of a Spanish fever. Further South, he sells beautiful feathered capes for a rich Mayan trader. ("I had nothing. I wanted nothing.") Always dodging Cortes, he ends up with Pisarro's army, sickened by their massacre of the Inca and failing hopelessly in love with the Inca king's daughter. By then Julian has come to sympathize wholly with the Indian victims against the Spanish conquerors and their priests, but he never gives up his Spanish religion. Dispirited, he returns to Spain to find the dwarf ensconced as the Marquis of Santa Cruz and the Seven Cities. "You always had a heavy conscience," observes the dwarf, as Julian gives up both his dream of priesthood and his share of the dwarf's gold to join a lay order, the Brothers of the Poor—a weary renunciation that could come only after the once-untried idealist had won and lost and soured on power and glory. This evolution, and the small choices Julian makes along the way, have remained the compelling focus of a trilogy crackling with intrigue, historical spectacle, and the conflict of cultures that confounds his loyalties.?
Pub Date: April 27, 1983
ISBN: 0395338867
Page Count: -
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1983
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
A sweet, nuanced, and reflective coming-of-age love story filled with moments of true beauty between family and friends.
Bestseller Dessen returns with the story of a teen who enters an unexpected whirlwind of a summer adventure with family she barely knows.
After high school graduation, Finley Hope expected to spend her customary two awkward weeks with her distant mother, Cat, who left when she was 4, before heading off to begin the life she’s planned around her boyfriend, Colin. But Cat abruptly changes their New York City itinerary, instead taking Finley with her to help prepare her rural family home for sale. Within days, Colin breaks up with Finley over a video call. Reeling from heartbreak, Finley throws her phone into the lake, entering an unexpected period of offline clarity. She also suffers the shock of accidentally discovering that Cat has cancer. But, immersed in the rhythms of the small town, Finley befriends new people—including Ben, a shy, awkward, but adorable cook at her aunt’s diner—while uncovering pieces of her mother’s past and the judgment that led her to keep her distance. Dessen excels at identifying pivotal aspects of young adulthood, allowing them to unfurl with authenticity and robust characterization. With time and reflection, Finley, who’s cued white, recognizes how much of her life she’s surrendered to others’ expectations. Through this forced pause and sudden change in plans, she discovers strength, independence, and the transformative power of being fully present in a place she never intended to be.
A sweet, nuanced, and reflective coming-of-age love story filled with moments of true beauty between family and friends. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: May 5, 2026
ISBN: 9798347108770
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
PERSPECTIVES
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