Rich language and striking visuals reveal emotional lessons about family, resolution, and love.
In this illustrated novel, a teenage girl learns to truly live while confronting the reality of death.
With summer vacation winding down, 14-year-old Phoenix is looking forward to starting eighth grade. But one week before school begins, her parent, Eagle, is diagnosed with brain cancer. Reeling from the news, Phoenix attempts to separate her worlds: the one at school, where she tries to be a “normal” student (but still finds that “the cancer ghost walks behind” her), and the one at home, where she and her grandparent, Duck, try to care for Eagle during his illness. All the while, Phoenix finds that wings are beginning to sprout from her shoulder blades—making real her desire to be both “human and bird.” She finds unexpected comfort and acceptance in a new friend from school, the colorful and eternally optimistic Ing. But soon the family trio discovers that a coyote is waiting in the wings, biding its time while it tries to steal the headdress that Eagle wears as part of his cancer treatment. This savage, eternally hungry representation of death stalks the family until Phoenix slowly learns to embrace her new wings and become the kind of person—and bird—who loves without fear. Using magical realism to blend the real and supernatural, Frances writes in nonrhyming verse form, with the formatting of the words sometimes echoing the action itself (the words “bird / spiraled / down,” for example, drops down the page). Each page features unique black-and-white block prints, with some covering the whole page and others adding small narrative details on the text pages.
Frances’ words and illustrations stack upon each other to form a compelling series of images that plays upon the book’s powerful themes of love and death. One full-page print, for example, shows a black silhouette of Phoenix wearing a hoodie, all human except for one arm that is a wing and the opposite foot that is a bird claw. It’s a visual feast based on a story that seemingly draws much of its animal representation from Native American lore. This is perhaps most obvious in the character of the coyote: “Coyote crawls through the window, / eyes gleaming, teeth snarling. / ‘Come to the table, Eagle. / Let me test your blood.’/ Needles and playing cards fall from the sky.” Phoenix’s journey toward acceptance and healing involves many starts and stops, eloquently reflecting the fluid emotions that people (especially teenagers) experience during times of upheaval. Some instances may strike a chord even among those who haven’t experienced a serious medical diagnosis in their family, especially since Frances has a knack for capturing the universal difficulties of existence: “So she did the hard thing– / she let herself feel everything / she let herself burn.” While some younger readers may struggle with accepting the book’s various animals and nature as metaphors for such ephemeral concepts as death and hope, the physical representation of these ideas creates its own kind of power: “After school, / I crawl on my hands and knees / into the river. / My wings are damp. / I cannot fly. / But maybe I can swim.” Frances has crafted a modern-day folktale that accomplishes the unique feat of providing both entertainment and catharsis.
Rich language and striking visuals reveal emotional lessons about family, resolution, and love.Pub Date: April 1, 2025
ISBN: 9781734419641
Page Count: 242
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
A contemporary hero’s journey, brilliantly told.
The 17-year-old son of a troubled rock star is determined to find his own way in life and love.
On the verge of adulthood, Blade Morrison wants to leave his father’s bad-boy reputation for drug-and-alcohol–induced antics and his sister’s edgy lifestyle behind. The death of his mother 10 years ago left them all without an anchor. Named for the black superhero, Blade shares his family’s connection to music but resents the paparazzi that prevent him from having an open relationship with the girl that he loves. However, there is one secret even Blade is unaware of, and when his sister reveals the truth of his heritage during a bitter fight, Blade is stunned. When he finally gains some measure of equilibrium, he decides to investigate, embarking on a search that will lead him to a small, remote village in Ghana. Along the way, he meets people with a sense of purpose, especially Joy, a young Ghanaian who helps him despite her suspicions of Americans. This rich novel in verse is full of the music that forms its core. In addition to Alexander and co-author Hess’ skilled use of language, references to classic rock songs abound. Secondary characters add texture to the story: does his girlfriend have real feelings for Blade? Is there more to his father than his inability to stay clean and sober? At the center is Blade, fully realized and achingly real in his pain and confusion.
A contemporary hero’s journey, brilliantly told. (Verse fiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-310-76183-9
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Blink
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2017
PERSPECTIVES
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