A tale with a captivating concept that sometimes gets lost in unnecessary wordiness.
In Howie’s YAhistorical fantasy novel, a young English girl discovers a unique power that allows her to travel through time in her dreams and affect real-life events.
Eleven-year-old Binnie Burgess’ parents died when she was a baby, which has made her life something of a struggle. However, it’s now the summer of 1987, and Binnie likes living with her foster family, the Warrens. She particularly enjoys exploring her new neighborhood in Cherryton, Kent, with her 12-year-old foster brother, Tommy. There’s also talk of the Warrens adopting her, which is very good news. However, one night, Binnie has a dream that feels disturbingly realistic, during which she warns British soldiers of a fleet of ships on the horizon. She tries to brush the strange dream aside, but when her family takes a trip to Dover Castle, she realizes that it wasn’t a figment of her imagination: Binnie actually was the local girl who saved the British troops from Napoleon’s invasion in 1805—just as she dreamed. It appears that she can somehow travel through time and have an effect on history, and she wonders how her ability works and who she can trust with the truth. If the images that are currently haunting her dreams are accurate, she’ll soon have to save people again—this time, 61 years in the future. Howie’s novel delivers a fun and offbeat time-travel plot. However, the storytelling tends to get bogged down by an overuse of description: “there was always something else to try: sherbet pips, rhubarb and custard, pear drops, sour apples, cola bottles, sweet peanuts, aniseed twists, and lemon bonbons, and that was just one shelf!” Younger readers may be put off by the long paragraphs of narration, which seem a better fit for readers who are a bit older than the main character. There are also some pacing issues, as not much happens in the first half of the story. However, when the main plot kicks in, it offers a great time, and the relationship between Binnie and Tommy particularly shines.
A tale with a captivating concept that sometimes gets lost in unnecessary wordiness.Pub Date: July 25, 2024
ISBN: 9781038319531
Page Count: 240
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: Feb. 6, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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