This war story follows a well-trodden road, offering something for aficionados of the genre but breaking little new ground.
An American teen witnesses the atrocities of the Vietnam War firsthand when he is captured and marched along the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
When wealthy, presumably white, prep school student Taylor gets caught sneaking out at night, his mom responds by dragging him to Vietnam to spend time with his dad, a Special Attaché at the U.S. Embassy. And when he sneaks out to party again, this time in Saigon on the eve of Tet, he stumbles into a new reality: He is taken hostage, tortured, and forced on a brutal trek north. Watkins (Sink or Swim, 2017, etc.) doesn’t shy away from the grimness of war or the harshness of the landscape, though he successfully steers clear of the needlessly grotesque. Still, the impact is muted, perhaps due to a not-particularly-appealing protagonist and his rapid shifts in fortune. The relationship between Taylor and Phuong, Taylor’s North Vietnamese captor and trail guide, serves as the story’s heart. She humanizes the enemy and complicates Taylor’s understanding of the war, and it is a shame that her perspective is not centered in the novel, which is narrated in the first person by Taylor, whose growth at times feels a little too easy. Those interested in learning more will appreciate the author’s note and its references to primary sources.
This war story follows a well-trodden road, offering something for aficionados of the genre but breaking little new ground. (author’s note) (Historical fiction. 12-17)Pub Date: Oct. 30, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-338-19701-3
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
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
A smart, timely outing.
Two teens connect through a mysterious podcast in this sophomore effort by British author Oseman (Solitaire, 2015).
Frances Janvier is a 17-year-old British-Ethiopian head girl who is so driven to get into Cambridge that she mostly forgoes friendships for schoolwork. Her only self-indulgence is listening to and creating fan art for the podcast Universe City, “a…show about a suit-wearing student detective looking for a way to escape a sci-fi, monster-infested university.” Aled Last is a quiet white boy who identifies as “partly asexual.” When Frances discovers that Aled is the secret creator of Universe City, the two embark on a passionate, platonic relationship based on their joint love of pop culture. Their bond is complicated by Aled’s controlling mother and by Frances’ previous crush on Aled’s twin sister, Carys, who ran away last year and disappeared. When Aled’s identity is accidently leaked to the Universe City fandom, he severs his relationship with Frances, leaving her questioning her Cambridge goals and determined to win back his affection, no matter what the cost. Frances’ narration is keenly intelligent; she takes mordant pleasure in using an Indian friend’s ID to get into a club despite the fact they look nothing alike: “Gotta love white people.” Though the social-media–suffused plot occasionally lags, the main characters’ realistic relationship accurately depicts current issues of gender, race, and class.
A smart, timely outing. (Fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: March 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-233571-5
Page Count: 496
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
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