A poignant and timely rumination on power, resistance, and compassion.
A young girl makes an unexpected animal friend in Balsara’s ambitious YA novel.
Ananda Blake is still reeling from the death of her beloved grandmother and her family’s abrupt move near the end of her junior year of high school. She struggles to fit in at her new school, especially after a video circulates of her making a public scene to save a rat at a local market. At home, her emotionally distant parents leave her feeling increasingly isolated. In a parallel narrative, Fin is a rat who’s been raised by his uncle (the rats’ Council chairman, known only as Papa) since his mother’s death when he was very young. He’s been taught to hate humans, known as “Two-Legs,” and he becomes an ardent supporter of Papa’s escalating campaign against humanity after he discovers a “Killing Chamber,”filled with caged rats. After Papa unveils a plan to resurrect the bubonic plague, Fin has a chance encounter with Ananda, who releases him from a trap;this interaction forces him to confront the brutal realities of the war that he and his fellow rats are waging. As the plague spreads rapidly around the world, both Fin and Ananda reckon with feelings of fear and loss but find the healing power of connection. Over the course of this novel, Balsara deftly incorporates the history of the Black Death and quotes from Soviet dictator Josef Stalin to give the novel’s exploration of authoritarianism, propaganda, and biological warfare a feeling of historical weight. Although the subject matter is heavy—touching on themes of trauma, abuse, and suicidal ideation—it’s all handled with care and nuance, making the story suitable for younger readers without diminishing its emotional resonance. This context also gives depth to the characters, especially Ananda and Fin, as they navigate their own family dynamics and emotions in a plague-ridden world. Secondary characters undergo their own arcs, with Ananda’s dad, Tom, and Fin’s friend Zumi growing significantly by the novel’s end. The author’s occasional grayscale illustrations of characters and events punctuate the text throughout.
A poignant and timely rumination on power, resistance, and compassion.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781988761947
Page Count: 332
Publisher: Common Deer Press
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and...
A deliciously creepy page-turning gem from first-time writer and illustrator Brosgol finds brooding teenager Anya trying to escape the past—both her own and the ghost haunting her.
Anya feels out of place at her preppy private school; embarrassed by her Russian heritage, she has worked hard to lose her accent and to look more like everyone else. After a particularly frustrating morning at the bus stop, Anya storms off, only to accidentally fall down a well. Down in the dark hole, she meets Emily, a ghost who claims to be a murder victim trapped down in the dank abyss for 90 years. With Emily’s help, Anya manages to escape, though once free, she learns that Emily has traveled out with her. At first, Emily seems like the perfect friend; however, once her motives become clear, Anya learns that “perfect” may only be an illusion. A moodily atmospheric spectrum of grays washes over the clean, tidy panels, setting a distinct stage before the first words appear. Brosgol’s tight storytelling invokes the chilling feeling of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (2002), though for a decidedly older set.
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and outward appearance. (Graphic supernatural fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: June 7, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59643-552-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
A thoughtful and thrilling story of life, death, and meaning.
Two teens train to be society-sanctioned killers in an otherwise immortal world.
On post-mortal Earth, humans live long (if not particularly passionate) lives without fear of disease, aging, or accidents. Operating independently of the governing AI (called the Thunderhead since it evolved from the cloud), scythes rely on 10 commandments, quotas, and their own moral codes to glean the population. After challenging Hon. Scythe Faraday, 16-year-olds Rowan Damisch and Citra Terranova reluctantly become his apprentices. Subjected to killcraft training, exposed to numerous executions, and discouraged from becoming allies or lovers, the two find themselves engaged in a fatal competition but equally determined to fight corruption and cruelty. The vivid and often violent action unfolds slowly, anchored in complex worldbuilding and propelled by political machinations and existential musings. Scythes’ journal entries accompany Rowan’s and Citra’s dual and dueling narratives, revealing both personal struggles and societal problems. The futuristic post–2042 MidMerican world is both dystopia and utopia, free of fear, unexpected death, and blatant racism—multiracial main characters discuss their diverse ethnic percentages rather than purity—but also lacking creativity, emotion, and purpose. Elegant and elegiac, brooding but imbued with gallows humor, Shusterman’s dark tale thrusts realistic, likable teens into a surreal situation and raises deep philosophic questions.
A thoughtful and thrilling story of life, death, and meaning. (Science fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4424-7242-6
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 25, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016
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