A rich multicultural narrative that struggles to keep the main plot in focus.
Following 2019’s You Must Be Layla, this sequel takes readers on a journey with Layla, an intrepid middle child of Sudanese origin living in Brisbane, Australia.
The novel references events in the previous book, such as Layla’s school suspension, but readers do not need to be familiar with the first book to fully understand this one. Fourteen-year-old Layla, or Laylz as her friends call her, has a single goal: to travel to Germany and win an annual international inventors’ competition. Her dream is seemingly derailed, however, when news of her maternal grandmother’s hospitalization in Sudan compels the family to drop everything and fly out to join Habooba Samira, the family matriarch, despite the country’s political protests. Most pages include words or expressions from Arabic, immersing readers in a setting that reflects the hybrid reality the main character inhabits; non-Arabic speakers can look words up in the glossary or work out the meanings from the context. The story includes a lot of rich background information about Sudanese culture, including cuisine and traditional foods; ancient history; current political events; and social issues, such as gender equality—as well as discussing immigrant identities and the dilemmas faced by those who feel caught between cultures. Layla’s experiences offer a refreshing lens on subject matter that is of wide interest, but the narrative struggles under the weight of details, diluting the central storyline.
A rich multicultural narrative that struggles to keep the main plot in focus. (Fiction. 12-15)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-76089-606-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia/Trafalgar
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2021
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel,...
Adventure drags our heroine all over the map of fantasyland while giving her the opportunity to use her smarts.
Elisa—Princess Lucero-Elisa de Riqueza of Orovalle—has been chosen for Service since the day she was born, when a beam of holy light put a Godstone in her navel. She's a devout reader of holy books and is well-versed in the military strategy text Belleza Guerra, but she has been kept in ignorance of world affairs. With no warning, this fat, self-loathing princess is married off to a distant king and is embroiled in political and spiritual intrigue. War is coming, and perhaps only Elisa's Godstone—and knowledge from the Belleza Guerra—can save them. Elisa uses her untried strategic knowledge to always-good effect. With a character so smart that she doesn't have much to learn, body size is stereotypically substituted for character development. Elisa’s "mountainous" body shrivels away when she spends a month on forced march eating rat, and thus she is a better person. Still, it's wonderfully refreshing to see a heroine using her brain to win a war rather than strapping on a sword and charging into battle.
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel, reminiscent of Naomi Kritzer's Fires of the Faithful (2002), keeps this entry fresh. (Fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-202648-4
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
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
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