This mature corrective to cultural mythology horrifies and edifies.
In the spring of 1846, a large caravan set out from Springfield, Illinois, seeking land and fortune in California.
Some of the families knew each other; most of them did not. They traveled together for safety and tolerated each other as individual personalities and ambitions become apparent on the trip. The narrators are so numerous that it is difficult to keep track of them all; among them are three members of the Reed family—teenage Virginia, dubbed “the Princess”; young Patty, “the Angel,” whose sections are addressed to God; and their father, James, who set his sights on leadership and faster travel via a shortcut. Other characters include a woman dubbed “the Scholar,” who is attached to her books; an orphan teen who joins the party along the way; and a German man who loses his faculties as one of the last survivors. Another narrator who outlasts the rest is the impersonal Hunger, whose familiarity with human longing explains the extreme behavior of the travelers. This historical narrative reads like a thriller, with nature, arrogance, ignorance, and greed as the villains, and it focuses on White settlers without glorifying them. The two Miwok vaqueros who serve as guides for a portion of the journey leave readers wanting more Indigenous voices; their presence, though, adds to the title’s poignancy as an exploration of the inhumanity involved in Westward expansion.
This mature corrective to cultural mythology horrifies and edifies. (maps, author’s note, historical notes, glossaries, additional reading) (Verse historical fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6324-7
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Raw, delicate, and deeply caring.
When Death-Cast doesn’t call, fate intertwines the lives of two boys, both haunted by their pasts and with futures they can’t escape.
In this third installment of the series that opened with 2017’s They Both Die at the End, Paz Dario waits every night for Death-Cast to call—as it should have for his father nearly 10 years ago, when Paz shot him to save his mother’s life. But the call never comes. Death-Cast killed Paz’s dreams of an acting career: No one will hire him now because the world sees him as a villain. When Paz tries (not for the first time) to put an end to his suffering, an unexpected encounter with Alano Rosa, the heir of Death-Cast, stops him. Both in a place of desperation, Alano and Paz sign a contract to live for Begin Days instead of waiting for their End Days. As suspenseful and emotionally wrenching as the previous titles in the series, this new installment explores heavy themes of abuse, mental health, self-harm, and suicide. Paz grapples with a recent diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Silvera surrounds Alano and Paz with a web of complex relationships. Although the protagonists fall fast for one another and form a deep connection over Alano’s desire to support Paz, Silvera emphasizes the importance of professional help. Both Alano and Paz have Puerto Rican heritage. The cliffhanger ending promises more to come.
Raw, delicate, and deeply caring. (content warning, resources) (Speculative fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780063240858
Page Count: 720
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
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