A compelling historical story that highlights timeless themes.
A young man lives out his father’s dream and learns the meaning of freedom.
Opening in coastal southeastern China during the 1960s and continuing until the 1970s, this gripping story introduces 11-year-old orphan Ming Hong, who is mourning his mother, who recently starved to death, like countless others during the Great Leap Forward. Ming’s fateful encounter with Lam Feiyen, a girl who was running away from her abusive home, gives him hope and evolves into a sustaining plot strand as the tale dives into the Cultural Revolution era. Sweeping social experiments, such as sending city youths to the countryside to learn through engaging in labor, bring Li to Ming’s village, where the teen boys’ paths cross. Using spare prose and straightforward language, dual narrators Ming and Li relate their perspectives as acquaintances struggling for a sense of purpose while enduring cruelty and suffering imposed by politics that pitted peasants against city dwellers, friends against one another, and children against their own parents. As Ming processes his long-deceased father’s failed bid for freedom and ponders his own ambition to swim to the British colony of Hong Kong, Li persuades Ming they should attempt this escape together. Their breathtaking journey and subsequent events feel plausible and poignant, not only because they are based on the lived experience of the author’s father, but also thanks to Chim’s gift for storytelling.
A compelling historical story that highlights timeless themes. (note about phonetics, map) (Historical fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-65613-8
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations.
Magic, mystery, and love intertwine and invite in this newest take on the “enchanted circus” trope.
Sisters raised by their abusive father, a governor of a colonial backwater in a world vaguely reminiscent of the late 18th century, Scarlett and Donatella each long for something more. Scarlett, olive-skinned, dark of hair and attitude, longs for Caraval, the fabled, magical circus helmed by the possibly evil Master Legend Santos, while blonde, sunny Tella finds comfort in drink and the embraces of various men. A slightly awkward start, with inconsistencies of attitude and setting, rapidly smooths out when they, along with handsome “golden-brown” sailor Julian, flee to Caraval on the eve of Scarlett’s arranged marriage. Tella disappears, and Scarlett must navigate a nighttime world of magic to find her. Caraval delights the senses: beautiful and scary, described in luscious prose, this is a show readers will wish they could enter. Dresses can be purchased for secrets or days of life; clocks can become doors; bridges move: this is an inventive and original circus, laced with an edge of horror. A double love story, one sensual romance and the other sisterly loyalty, anchors the plot, but the real star here is Caraval and its secrets.
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-09525-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Summery fun and games with feeling.
A summer trip helps break 18-year-old Meredith Fox out of a haze of mourning.
Her cousin’s wedding means a return to Martha’s Vineyard, a well-loved destination but one filled with bittersweet memories. It’s been a year and a half since the sudden loss of Meredith’s sister, Claire, and the grief remains strong. Meredith, though, resolves to take this time to celebrate family and bridge the rifts resulting from ghosting friends. She didn’t plan on a meet-cute/embarrassing encounter with the groom’s stepbrother, Wit. Nor did she expect a wedding-week game of Assassin, a water-gun–fueled family tradition. What starts off as a pact of sharing strategic information with Wit grows into something more as the flirting and feelings develop. Only one person can win, though, and any alliance has an expiration date. To win and honor Claire, who was a master of the game, Meredith must keep her eye on the prize. Taking place over the course of a week, the narrative is tight with well-paced reveals that disrupt predictability and keep the plot moving. Early details are picked back up, and many elements come satisfyingly full circle. The short time frame also heightens the tension of this summer romance: What will happen when they leave the bubble of the Vineyard? The mix of budding romance, competitive hijinks, a close-knit circle, as well as dealing with loss make for a satisfying read. The main cast is White.
Summery fun and games with feeling. (family tree) (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-72821-029-2
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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