Alexander's Westmark ended with printer's devil Theo helping oust the villains at court and his beggar girlfriend Mickle revealed as Princess Augusta. Now, with Theo off sounding the population, the king dies and the treacherous ousted minister plots with neighboring Regians to invade Westmark. The chief Westmark general, also in on the plot, will surrender early and take part in the new power structure. But when he does, Mickle—as Queen Augusta—takes command of her troops; and Theo joins his old Revolutionary friends, who are fighting as guerrillas in temporary support of the queen. Most of the story takes place during the fighting, when Theo becomes famous as the bloodthirsty guerrilla captain Kestrel but is privately wrenched by the behavior that becomes necessary in war. There is other talk about measures that are revoltingly necessary—press censorship, for one—until, after many casualties among friends and enemies, Mickle herself negotiates a peace with the Regians' hitherto pathetic young captive king. (Says he, "Now they won't call me Constantine the Coward. I'll be Constantine the Conciliator.") The revolutionaries will share in the new constitutional government, as will Theo, but Mickle will keep her throne as she can't trust anyone else not to "botch" the job. This is old-fashioned story-telling through-and-through, its handling of themes more fossilized than timeless—which is probably fine with Alexander's audience.
Pub Date: April 1, 1982
ISBN: 0141310693
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1982
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A spectacular return to a magical world.
Following the events of Impossible Creatures (2024), a devoted Guardian teams up with a brave princess to fight her power-hungry uncle and save the Archipelago’s dragons from a strange new threat.
Jacques the dragon summons Christopher Forrester back to the Archipelago from the human world: Dragons are dying, and no one knows why. Meanwhile, on the island of Dousha, Princess Anya’s grandfather, King Halam, has been murdered, and her father accused—though she knows he’s innocent. When Christopher and Anya take refuge on the islet of Glimt, the Berserker Nighthand helps them see how their twin missions to save the dragons and free Anya’s father are connected. They work together to create an antidote for the poison that’s killing the dragons and to keep Anya and her father safe from her murderous uncle. Meanwhile, Nighthand and Irian, the part-nereid ocean scholar, pursue their own important secret mission. Divided into three parts—“Castle,” “Dragons,” and “Revenge”—and containing elements of fairy tales, fantasy, and Shakespeare, this story continues the storyline established in the series opener, yet because it introduces new characters and obstacles, it could also stand alone. Dark-blond Anya (“five feet tall and all of it claws”) is a match for white-presenting Christopher, who, though he still misses Mal, finds that “it made a difference to have someone to move through the world with again. A friend changed the feel of the universe.” Mackenzie’s delicate, otherworldly art adorns the text.
A spectacular return to a magical world. (map, bestiary) (Fantasy. 10-15)Pub Date: Sept. 11, 2025
ISBN: 9780593809907
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
PROFILES
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
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