A powerful duology closer that explores gender, power, and community in a unique world infused with Aztec mythology.
This thrilling sequel to The Sunbearer Trials (2022) follows Teo and Xio, two semidioses (or demigods) and former friends, as they fight on opposite sides during a war and an apocalypse.
Following the theft of the Sol Stone by the formerly exiled and now unleashed Obsidian gods and their monstrous Celestials, the inhabitants of Reino del Sol are plunged into a dark and uncertain future. Flanked by his best friend and crush, Teo embarks on an odyssey to resurrect Sol and save the world, while Xio wrestles with their role in the Obsidians’ revenge. Teo learns that the power structures and histories he learned from the ruling dioses (including his mother, Quetzal) may hide injustices and inequities that he doesn’t want to restore. Meanwhile, Xio begins to question whether the quest for justice for which they were conscripted to fight might instead be a subterfuge that’s intended to enact an oppressive new world. While action-packed with both battles and romance, the story also deftly delves into themes of systemic violence, generational trauma, and abuse of power. Teo and Xio are complex characters who offer strong representation of and for trans and nonbinary teens, respectively. The central messages of self-discovery, social justice, and building communities of care in a hostile world will resonate with readers who are facing challenges themselves.
A powerful duology closer that explores gender, power, and community in a unique world infused with Aztec mythology. (Fantasy. 13-18)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9781250822086
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2024
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
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
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