Poufy gowns and corsets in a futuristic setting make for an interesting spin on a perennially popular genre.
In the 22rd century, major corporate executives and their families re-create Versailles, complete with their own King.
Just under 100 years ago, Sonoma Inc. saved the world from starvation but demanded that France hand over its most treasured historical palace. Calling their establishment Sonoman-Versailles, its multicultural executives live there as if it were the Baroque era, but with bots to dress them in their period costumes and with the palace wired into a sophisticated computer system. Danica Grayson lives with her overbearing mother, who blackmails the King into naming Dani as his fiancee after the white 17-year-old sees him strangle a member of the court. Desperate to escape her fate, Dani strikes a deal with a drug dealer who promises her a new life for 5 million euros. To make the money, Dani works with him to sell the titular Glitter. The drug is so addicting that Dani can be sure of ever increasing profits from the courtiers. However, she must work with the dealer’s assistant, a green-eyed man with Asian features to whom Dani feels a compulsive attraction. As the plot thickens, Dani strategizes an escape, but that must wait until the next book. Pike creates an intriguing and imaginative world that mixes the future and the past, with enough suspense to keep pages turning and enough forbidden romance and florid descriptions to satisfy genre conventions.
Poufy gowns and corsets in a futuristic setting make for an interesting spin on a perennially popular genre. (Romantic thriller. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 25, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-93370-1
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
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 book that seamlessly brings readers along on a journey of impact and empowerment.
A manifesto for budding feminists.
At the core of this engaging novel are besties Chelsea, who is Irish- and Italian-American and into fashion and beauty, and Jasmine, who is African-American, loves the theater, and pushes back against bias around size (“I don’t need your fake compliments, your pity. I know I’m beautiful. Inside and out”). They and their sidekicks, half-Japanese/half-Lebanese Nadine and Puerto Rican Isaac, grow into first-class activists—simultaneously educating their peers and readers. The year gets off to a rocky start at their progressive, social justice–oriented New York City high school: Along with the usual angst many students experience, Jasmine’s father is terminally ill with cancer, and after things go badly in both their clubs, Jasmine and Chelsea form a women’s rights club which becomes the catalyst for their growth as they explore gender inequality and opportunities for change. This is an inspiring look at two strong-willed teens growing into even stronger young women ready to use their voices and take on the world, imploring budding feminists everywhere to “join the revolution.” The book offers a poetic balance of dialogue among the main characters, their peers, and the adults in their lives. The exquisite pacing, which intersperses everyday teen conflicts with weightier issues, demonstrates how teens long to be heard and taken seriously.
A book that seamlessly brings readers along on a journey of impact and empowerment. (resources for young activists, endnotes) (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Feb. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0008-3
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2019
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