Great worldbuilding but not entirely satisfying.
When half-star/half-human Sheetal Mistry accidently injures her father, she needs to ascend to Svargalok, the abode of the stars, to find him a cure.
Just shy of 17, Sheetal has brown skin like her human father, Gautam, and silver hair like her star mother, Charumati, but she has never truly known what it means to be a star. Her human, Gujarati family in New Jersey insists she hide her star heredity, as stars were once hunted by mortals for their silver blood, which has healing properties. As a result, Sheetal knows very little of her ancestry or what she is truly capable of. Following the accident that puts her father in the hospital, Sheetal and her best friend, Minal, go in search of Charumati for a drop of star’s blood to cure her father. Unfortunately for her, Nana and Nani—the Esteemed Patriarch and Matriarch of their constellation, Pushya, and Sheetal’s maternal grandparents—agree to save her father only if she wins a competition that will allow their family to rule over the other constellations. Loosely inspired by Neil Gaiman’s Stardust (1997) and Hindu mythology, Thakrar’s debut covers the lives of stars, an unnecessarily complicated romance, and a half-star’s journey toward self-discovery. Refreshingly, all the characters are Indian or of Indian origin. Despite the fascinating premise, however, several characters lack the luster and conviction which would have otherwise added much-needed depth and heart to the novel.
Great worldbuilding but not entirely satisfying. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 11, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-289462-5
Page Count: 448
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Raw, delicate, and deeply caring.
When Death-Cast doesn’t call, fate intertwines the lives of two boys, both haunted by their pasts and with futures they can’t escape.
In this third installment of the series that opened with 2017’s They Both Die at the End, Paz Dario waits every night for Death-Cast to call—as it should have for his father nearly 10 years ago, when Paz shot him to save his mother’s life. But the call never comes. Death-Cast killed Paz’s dreams of an acting career: No one will hire him now because the world sees him as a villain. When Paz tries (not for the first time) to put an end to his suffering, an unexpected encounter with Alano Rosa, the heir of Death-Cast, stops him. Both in a place of desperation, Alano and Paz sign a contract to live for Begin Days instead of waiting for their End Days. As suspenseful and emotionally wrenching as the previous titles in the series, this new installment explores heavy themes of abuse, mental health, self-harm, and suicide. Paz grapples with a recent diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Silvera surrounds Alano and Paz with a web of complex relationships. Although the protagonists fall fast for one another and form a deep connection over Alano’s desire to support Paz, Silvera emphasizes the importance of professional help. Both Alano and Paz have Puerto Rican heritage. The cliffhanger ending promises more to come.
Raw, delicate, and deeply caring. (content warning, resources) (Speculative fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780063240858
Page Count: 720
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
Highly imaginative and powerfully affecting.
Folklore, fantasy, and horror are interwoven in this story of a 17-year-old’s journey to save her brother set in 1836 Wisconsin.
The story unfolds as Catalina’s father dies and her brother, Jose Luis, is stolen by the Man of Sap, a monstrosity of bark and leaves. Pa ranted about the terror of the Man of Sap’s deadly apples before he succumbed to them, but when the monster disappears with Jose Luis, Catalina’s world falls apart. Taking a satchel of supplies, Mamá’s beloved book of poetry by Sor Juana de la Cruz—a treasure from her Mexican homeland—and a knife that belonged to her white Pa, Catalina sets off to find her brother and destroy the Man of Sap. Along the way, she finds friendship, terrifying creatures, whispers of magic, and the key to believing that love is not always lost. Surrounded by poetry, both that of de la Cruz and her own personal writing that she cannot finish, Catalina finds words are a redemptive force. Readers are thrown into an exploration of the heartbreak and loneliness following death and loss, and each character, whether human or otherwise, brings introspection and courage to the tale. Mesmerizingly told through the eyes of both Catalina and the monster, the book invites readers to travel with characters who are reckoning with greed, fear, and love as they consider what makes a monster—and whether monsters can be redeemed.
Highly imaginative and powerfully affecting. (author’s note) (Speculative fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2023
ISBN: 9781682636473
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Peachtree Teen
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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