An intriguing look at history and moral dilemmas through a fantasy lens.
An 18th-century West African teenager’s powers place her at an impasse when she faces a choice that affects countless lives.
Sixteen-year-old Elewa is a girl from the Oleba tribe, which has been at war with the Okena for years. One of Elewa’s greatest desires is for her people to experience peace. When her father becomes Oleba High Chief, her arranged marriage to the son of the Okena chief becomes part of a tentative peace treaty. At the same time, Elewa’s Yeseni, or magical gifts of vision, show her a different African nation at a time when the Europeans are brutally enslaving people on a scale far beyond the slavery that’s present in her own world. An elder tells Elewa that she may be able to time travel to prevent this tragedy—but at the risk of not being able to return to her own time and help forge the long-awaited truce. Elewa faces the agonizing difficulty of deciding whether to try to save millions from the unthinkable or focus on her duties to her immediate family and nation (even if she is uncertain about marrying someone she doesn’t love). Debut author Burrell presents an interesting dilemma, and Elewa’s first-person narration allows readers to feel connected with her as she deals with uncertainty, frustration, and other challenges both internal and external. The novel highlights themes of identity, self-discovery, family, and conflict through its imaginative premise.
An intriguing look at history and moral dilemmas through a fantasy lens. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781800182219
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Unbound Firsts
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2025
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
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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