Car chases, explosions and action galore—awesome.
Tate Archer stumbles into a secret intergalactic conflict.
Frederick Archer insists that his son learn multiple languages, math, science and self-defense—all in the name of some mysterious family responsibility. Tate rebels by sneaking into his father’s lab and borrowing an invention, a scanner. The next thing Tate knows, he and his girlfriend are on the run from police and secret-agent types. His father—before paying the price for Tate’s mistake—spills the family secret: Aliens indistinguishable from humans invaded 400 years ago, systematically infiltrated powerful positions and are outbreeding humanity. Only one-third of the population is biologically human. Indeed, most aliens think they’re human; their central organization ruthlessly guards their secret. The Archers are part of a coalition of human families in the know trying to preserve humanity. Tate puzzles out his father’s scanner while dodging aliens and discovering other coalition members’ unpleasant truths. Untrustworthy adults force Tate to solve his own problems—his skill with improvised, household-materials chemistry allows him to do so explosively, alongside his competent, quick-thinking girlfriend. The chemistry applications are delightful, but bio-geeks might be skeptical about the mechanics of the invasion. The prose sometimes overnarrates, pairing showing with redundant telling, but action keeps the plot moving. The resolution casts doubt on everything Tate and readers think they know, setting up for a sequel.
Car chases, explosions and action galore—awesome. (Science fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: May 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-399-16065-3
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2014
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
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression.
After surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself.
Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself; her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out; her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply; and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. After spending time in treatment with other young women like her—who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves—Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she "like-likes" but who had pined for Ellis instead. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends. Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a "semifamous" local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. Through intense, diarylike chapters chronicling Charlie's journey, the author captures the brutal and heartbreaking way "girls who write their pain on their bodies" scar and mar themselves, either succumbing or surviving. Like most issue books, this is not an easy read, but it's poignant and transcendent as Charlie breaks more and more before piecing herself back together.
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-93471-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
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