The ultimate lesson—of having empathy for oneself as well as for others whose wounds may be invisible—is well-taken though...
Five New Mexico teens undergo a soul-cleansing ritual, with varied results.
Consuelo “Lo” McDonough is struggling with a likely diagnosis of early-onset multiple sclerosis, which also took the life of her beloved aunt Karine. When a mysterious but oddly comforting stranger named Jay offers to perform a healing ritual, Lo jumps at the chance, quickly gathering the four similarly damaged friends she needs to complete the group for the ritual. The five teens—grieving Kit, former child soldier Thomas, drug addict Ellen, impervious-to-pain Kaya and Lo herself—discover that though they no longer suffer from their original ailments, their problems have been swapped. Kit receives Ellen’s addictive personality and uses it to embrace life again, nearly a year after his girlfriend’s tragic death, while Ellen’s experience of Lo’s neurological symptoms forces her to be physically and mentally present in a way she hasn’t been in ages. The most spiritually significant transformation is also the most cringe-inducing: When Kaya takes on Thomas’ emotional trauma, she taps into supposed historical memories of white soldiers attacking her American Indian ancestors, with tragic results in the present. Although specific references to legends of and historic atrocities against the American Indians of the Southwest are sprinkled about, there is no attempt to authenticate Kaya’s experience.
The ultimate lesson—of having empathy for oneself as well as for others whose wounds may be invisible—is well-taken though sadly heavy-handed. (Fiction. 12-15)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-59514-735-6
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2014
This is no didactic near-future warning of present evils, but a cinematic adventure featuring endearing, compelling heroes
A gripping thriller in dystopic future Los Angeles.
Fifteen-year-olds June and Day live completely different lives in the glorious Republic. June is rich and brilliant, the only candidate ever to get a perfect score in the Trials, and is destined for a glowing career in the military. She looks forward to the day when she can join up and fight the Republic’s treacherous enemies east of the Dakotas. Day, on the other hand, is an anonymous street rat, a slum child who failed his own Trial. He's also the Republic's most wanted criminal, prone to stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. When tragedies strike both their families, the two brilliant teens are thrown into direct opposition. In alternating first-person narratives, Day and June experience coming-of-age adventures in the midst of spying, theft and daredevil combat. Their voices are distinct and richly drawn, from Day’s self-deprecating affection for others to June's Holmesian attention to detail. All the flavor of a post-apocalyptic setting—plagues, class warfare, maniacal soldiers—escalates to greater complexity while leaving space for further worldbuilding in the sequel.
This is no didactic near-future warning of present evils, but a cinematic adventure featuring endearing, compelling heroes . (Science fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25675-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: April 8, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
BOOK TO SCREEN
Refreshing and moving: avoids easy answers and saviors from the outside.
From Sudan to Maine, in free verse.
It's 1999 in Juba, and the second Sudanese civil war is in full swing. Viola is a Bari girl, and she lives every day in fear of the government soldiers occupying her town. In brief free-verse chapters, Viola makes Juba real: the dusty soil, the memories of sweetened condensed milk, the afternoons Viola spends braiding her cousin's hair. But there is more to Juba than family and hunger; there are the soldiers, and the danger, and the horrifying interactions with soldiers that Viola doesn't describe but only lets the reader infer. As soon as possible, Viola's mother takes the family to Cairo and then to Portland, Maine—but they won't all make it. First one and then another family member is brought down by the devastating war and famine. After such a journey, the culture shock in Portland is unsurprisingly overwhelming. "Portland to New York: 234 miles, / New York to Cairo: 5,621 miles, / Cairo to Juba: 1,730 miles." Viola tries to become an American girl, with some help from her Sudanese friends, a nice American boy and the requisite excellent teacher. But her mother, like the rest of the Sudanese elders, wants to run her home as if she were back in Juba, and the inevitable conflict is heartbreaking.
Refreshing and moving: avoids easy answers and saviors from the outside. (historical note) (Fiction. 13-15)Pub Date: May 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7614-6267-5
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2012
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