A fast-paced tale with richly drawn characters that revels in mythical worldbuilding.
A teenager is thrust into an otherworldly mystery when she stumbles upon a glowing gem in Messina’s YA SF novel.
When readers first meet Resa Stone, the 17-year-old is living with her parents and twin brother, Dakota, on the planet Wandelsta. Five years ago, aliens made contact with Earth and revealed the existence of 25 other planets harboring life. The aliens’ technology made interstellar travel possible, and Resa’s family became one of the few that were chosen to live on Wandelsta for six months as part of “a universal sociologic experiment.” Resa has had a recurring dream in which a mysterious girl named Nitika tells her, “You are the one”; one day on Wandelsta, she sees Nitika in her waking life, and Nitika leads her to a gem that she says will “fulfill [her] destiny.” The importance of this gem reveals itself in the legend of Gemja—a distant, utopian planet whose crystals once satisfied everyone’s every need until an evil force came and tempted different species to steal the crystals for themselves. Only when all the stones are found and activated by representatives of each planet will Gemja reappear. As Resa struggles with the meaning of the gem, and the revelation that she’s not even the first person in her family to find one, she must also contend with her burgeoning powers as a witch—she had a witch mentor back on Earth—and the attention of a mysterious violet-eyed boy. Over the course of this novel, Messina offers an absorbing story that’s peppered with haunting black-and-white illustrations by Pavliuk. It blends fantasy and SF elements, along with witchcraft and teenage romance, with a degree of skill that’s likely to satisfy fans of all these genres. The action never stops moving, whether Resa encounters a talking wolf in a forest or practices astral projection to save her grandmother. The plot will also encourage readers to consider big questions as well, such as whether the mind is truly limitless.
A fast-paced tale with richly drawn characters that revels in mythical worldbuilding.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 9781736723128
Page Count: 333
Publisher: Lunalore Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 2, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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