An action-packed SF novel for fans of superhero blockbusters.
An anxious teen discovers he has time-manipulation abilities in Novick’s debut YA novel, the first in a series.
Johnny Winchester’s life is hardly that of the average 13-year-old. An “equestrian prodigy,” he performs horse stunts at a carnival—jumping through flaming hoops and the like—to raise money for his younger sister Lily’s leukemia treatment. As if that weren’t stressful enough, he meets Harmony Jones at one of his shows, a math-loving, group-home-residing girl whom he recognizes from a recent series of nightmares. Strangely enough, Harmony tells Johnny that she’s been dreaming about him, too—and in her dreams, he possesses the remarkable ability to stop time. Soon after, a floating robotic silver sphere materializes out of a strange photograph, one that appears to show a baby Johnny with his astronaut parents—or are they?—in a futuristic city. The sphere (or iBall) is named ALPHA (Advanced Laser-tronic Protective Healing Automaton), and it reveals that Johnny is a time traveler placed in the care of his adoptive parents by his real parents (“the multiverse’s best Time Agents”). After unwittingly employing his time-dilation ability during one of his stunts, Johnny has blown his lifelong cover, and bad guys from throughout the multiverse start descending on his family’s RV—including the greatest villain of them all, an evil version of Johnny from thousands of years in the future known as Emperor Jax. Now, with the help of Harmony and ALPHA, Johnny must travel through time and space to prevent Jax from destroying the multiverse, along the way encountering flying, multiplying Time Worms, baby time machines that live on good memories, and a possibly mythological prime mover named Father Time.
Johnny, as written by Novick, doesn’t precisely sound like a teenager, but he narrates his fish-out-of-water tale with angsty vigor. “Telling anyone the truth wasn’t an option,” he reflects after discovering his time manipulation powers. “Mom would go full-on mama bear and have doctors poking around in my brain like they were searching for buried treasure. Dad would probably force me into early retirement before I ended up a vegetable. And I hate vegetables.” The worldbuilding is complex, and there are a lot of acronyms to remember, but the author keeps the action rooted in the characters, whose distinctive personalities he establishes with economy and humor. Johnny’s facility with horses—and, eventually, robot horses—and Harmony’s enthusiasm for the (admittedly Hogwarts-like) Time Traveler University help to make the protagonists unique and relatable. Some of the explosive set pieces go on for a bit too long—for better or for worse, the story seems as indebted to superhero movies as it is to YA SF—and it is perhaps because of this cartoonishness that Lily’s childhood leukemia feels like a slightly manipulative intrusion of real life into a world unable to grant such things the proper emotional weight. Even so, readers will find themselves swept up in Johnny’s adventures across the multiverse, and they will rejoice when the ending hints at further adventures to follow.
An action-packed SF novel for fans of superhero blockbusters.Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9798989776702
Page Count: 271
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: July 3, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
A charming cozy fantasy about defying expectations and finding love.
The lives of two Los Angeles girls inhabiting different universes intersect, proving that love knows no bounds.
Brenda Nguyen has a 19-step plan to save the world. Kat Woo is haunted by her legacy as the chosen one, a role she has no interest in. Brenda, working on an environmental science college scholarship application, stumbles into Sammy’s Coffee and Pick-Me-Ups, which Kat’s family owns. As the girls get to know each other, Brenda at last finds someone who’ll listen to her detailed plans, while Kat discovers she has something to look forward to. The girls, who alternate narrating the story, must defy the odds as their worlds begin to collide. As well as being a love story, this is an exploration of familial expectations: Kat is trying to outrun them, while Brenda is driven to fulfill hers. The girls, who are of Chinese and Vietnamese descent, respectively, complement each other: Brenda learns to live in the present, and Kat begins to look to the future. While there are pixie swarms and mana surges, the action takes a back seat to characterization. Lee’s fully developed parallel worlds are alike in many ways, although in Kat’s, you can buy teleportation spells at Target. The cast is rounded out by solid portrayals of the girls’ friends and family, who are important to the plot.
A charming cozy fantasy about defying expectations and finding love. (author’s note, recommended reading) (Fantasy romance. 14-18)Pub Date: June 10, 2025
ISBN: 9781250778024
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
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