Alexander's latest once-upon-a-time adventure, unfolded this time with no recourse to magic, brings Theo, an orphaned printer's devil and a true innocent, up against a repressive government that has policemen break into the printing shop, kill his master, and destroy the press—all because they've accepted an order from a traveling quack, the self-styled Dr. Absalom. Theo, in the melée, knocks out an officer, fears he's killed him (and agonizes later because he'd momentarily wanted to), and so becomes a fugitive. (When he goes to report the incident, a sympathetic local policeman as much as orders him to flee.) For a while Thee travels reluctantly with Dr. Absalom himself, a likable rogue also known as Count Las Bombas, and becomes fond of Mickle, a street waif they pick up along the way. Later Thee falls in with a band of revolutionaries, though it's a while before he recognizes what they're up to, and he remains impartially perplexed over their opposition to monarchy per se vs. the more moderate position of their temporary ally, the exiled but loyal court doctor who just wants to get fid of the king's tyrannical chief minister Cabbarus. Cabbarus, we've learned, seized power while the distraught king grieved unendingly for his presumably dead daughter—but he's brought down now when Mickle's true identity is revealed. During the final unmasking, Thee appeases his conscience by risking his life to save that of the hated minister; and in the end he is closer to the monarchy than he'd ever expected to be. A cavalier treatment of the political questions raised earlier, but a colorful and nimbly executed adventure.
Pub Date: May 12, 1981
ISBN: 0141310685
Page Count: 184
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1981
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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