A shimmering, piratical fantasy with real-world teeth.
An aspiring pirate hunter sails in pursuit of an infamous pirate; her quest takes her further than she could ever imagine.
Seventeen-year-old Ximena Reale is a promising young candidate at La Academia de los Cazadores, a feat she’s achieved against the odds posed by her stained last name: Five years ago, her parents were hanged on La Academia’s gallows as pirates. The apparent resurrection of Gasparilla—history’s most notorious (and long-dead) pirate—brings the opportunity to prove herself once and for all. Armed with her unwavering commitment to the Law of the Luzan Empire, Ximena chases vengeance, honor, and a Cazodoro cloak of her own. She’s in competition with Dante de León, an arrogant and infuriatingly handsome classmate. The journey tests not only her skill and bravery but her faith in the Law itself. James delivers her fast-paced and convincing debut narrative in an accomplished third-person voice. She layers her prose with Spanish vocabulary, immersing readers in the cadences of the Luzan Empire and trusting those unfamiliar with the language to navigate by context. The story resounds with messages of the harm done by imperialism, bringing readers along as Ximena learns to question authority, consider new perspectives, and seek alternatives to violence. Budding romance and soaring stakes keep the tension simmering through the last page and marvelously tee up the second book in this duology. The characters are cued as Latine.
A shimmering, piratical fantasy with real-world teeth. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780063345614
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
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
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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