A transporting, nostalgic adventure that will entertain teen and adult readers alike.
Three teens embark on a dangerous quest that tests their friendship in this YA novel.
In 1987 in Burghville, New York, Amanda Brooks, Skye Krause, and Marcy Mason are sophomores at Mid Valley High. Each girl deals with a disturbing aspect of her life. Amanda has anxiety; Skye’s veteran father disappeared after a violent episode; and Marcy’s mother has cancer. One day, the girls meet outside for lunch. Marcy explains her fascination with a hiking spot in the wooded mountains of the Hudson Valley that involves a decrepit mansion. Instead of spending Halloween indoors watching It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, they agree to find the mansion of Theodore R. Van Barren Bowls, a scientist who vanished in 1957. Their imaginations blaze with the possibility that his secret laboratory contains a time machine. They also create the cover story of a sleepover for their parents because sneaking onto the state-owned property isn’t legal. After Skye’s cousin Charlemagne drops them off at the trail in her Buick Beast, the girls begin hiking toward a transmission tower near the mansion. From there, they’ll encounter wildlife, hazardous obstacles, and unsavory strangers on a journey that may or may not yield the treasured experience they’re hoping for. Connelly’s adventure brims with realism and nostalgia, creating a heady mix for readers who came of age in an era before social media. The mainstream heyday of heavy metal culture is portrayed in character sketches; student Tony Vito, for example, can’t attend a concert that’s part of the band Slayer’s Reign in Blood tour because he broke his ankle jumping from the school’s bathroom window. The protagonists and the secrets they keep are exceptionally drawn, like Amanda, who has a crush on Mr. West, a teacher (“He’s a dream”); and Skye, who listens to Elton John. The Hudson Valley’s natural beauty is juxtaposed against striking elements like the Manhattan skyline. Brief flash-forwards prove poignant as readers learn just how much this hike meant to the girls as they became women. The author’s skill in conjuring this particular time and place through vibrant characters should leave readers eager for his next novel.
A transporting, nostalgic adventure that will entertain teen and adult readers alike.Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2020
ISBN: 979-8479751011
Page Count: 162
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Aug. 4, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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