Subtle but powerful social commentary that’s skillfully mixed with pop-culture irreverence.
A group of nerdy teenage misfits battles gods and social injustices in this fourth installment of a YA supernatural series.
Liam Reilly and his friends at Grand Old Republic University are much more than normal students, as evidenced by their adventures fighting demons and zombies in previous volumes. But as this entry opens, it’s Tater Tot Tuesday at the cafeteria and Liam’s biggest issue is trying to figure out a way to ask his crush, Jeanie Winskell, out without making a fool of himself. Things quickly become complicated when Liam finds a mysterious virtual-reality headset in a package with his name on it and no return address and, imprudently, activates the gear. He’s immediately transported to a mythical version of the American dream, specifically the Manifest Destiny—replete with a Wild West landscape and gunslinging cowboys as well as characters like Darth Maul, Slender Man, and Krampus. Realizing that he is trapped in the twisted dreamscape, Liam must use his wits to understand the purpose of the “game.” When his friend Esmeralda Gichuru, a “dreamwalker,” shows up to help, they discover that everything revolves around a god who needs to find a missing part of herself in order to become whole again. Powered by nonstop action and relentless pacing, Neill’s tale follows Liam and company as they uncover profound revelations about the country they live in, which is suffering from a sickness of the soul: “America was natural beauty cheek to jowl with a gaudy, tacky, profit-seeking spirit. Commerce attempting to subdue everything in its path like a steamroller making way for a parking lot.” Complementing the deep thematic exploration (racism, discrimination, greed) are numerous pop-culture references, many of which are laugh-out-loud funny—like a nod to the Kelis song “Milkshake” in a particularly intense sequence.
Subtle but powerful social commentary that’s skillfully mixed with pop-culture irreverence.Pub Date: Nov. 18, 2023
ISBN: 9798867829995
Page Count: 185
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Jan. 30, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.
Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868138
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Heart-pounding.
A gay, transgender brujo with burgeoning powers seeks answers about his cousin’s death.
Sixteen-year-old Yadriel also wishes for acknowledgement from his community but unexpectedly finds himself entangled in the unresolved wishes of a strong-willed, good-looking spirit. He descends from a long line of brujx who have been granted magic power by Lady Death to heal the living and to guide spirits into the afterlife. Although he’s grown up surrounded by a close-knit community, Yadriel feels alone, excluded indefinitely from a sacred rite of passage because he is transgender. When he senses that his cousin Miguel has died suddenly but the family can’t locate him, Yadriel sees an opportunity to prove to everyone he’s a true brujo by solving the mystery and releasing his cousin’s lost spirit. His plan quickly falls apart, as he accidentally summons the spirit of Julian Diaz, a boy with unfinished business who died the same day as Miguel. Both the romance and mystery burn slow and hot until the climax. Stakes begin high, and the intensity only increases with a looming deadline and a constant risk that Julian might lose himself, turning maligno. The cast of characters represents a diversity of Latinx identities sharing a community in East Los Angeles. Julian is Colombian while Yadriel is Cuban and Mexican. Their romance provides joyful, ground-breaking representation for gay, transgender boys.
Heart-pounding. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-25046-9
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Swoon Reads/Macmillan
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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