A cliffhanger ending compels a return to this absorbing Indigenous fantasy.
Morgan and Eli return to Askí in this sequel to The Barren Grounds (2020).
Actually, the Cree foster siblings have been returning nightly, taking advantage of the different passage of time between Earth and Askí to stay in the village of Misewa for weeks while their foster parents sleep. Their joy in staying with the animal beings of Misewa is tempered by the loss of the old fisher Ochek. On Earth, Eli is bullied at school so relentlessly he cuts off his braid, and their foster parents (who are White) have thrown Morgan for a loop by giving her the telephone number of her birth mother—whom the eighth grader hasn’t seen since she was taken away as a toddler. So when Eli proposes changing their portal to go to a time when Ochek is young, Morgan agrees. Their ensuing adventure is something of an idyll, giving the kids a glimpse of a peaceful, prosperous Misewa. Readers of Volume 1 will enjoy this new aspect on favorite characters just as much as Morgan and Eli do, especially the squirrel Arik and teenage Ochek. The struggle against the rampaging Great Bear—shockingly, a younger version of wise village elder Muskwa—drives the action. Robertson’s (Norway House Cree Nation) nods at the complexity of time-travel plots serve as wry metafictive commentary and also tie into his consideration of profound existential questions.
A cliffhanger ending compels a return to this absorbing Indigenous fantasy. (glossary) (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7352-6613-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Puffin/Penguin Random House Canada
Review Posted Online: July 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious.
If you made a recording to be heard by the aliens who found the iPod, what would you record?
For 11-year-old Alex Petroski, it's easy. He records everything. He records the story of how he travels to New Mexico to a rocket festival with his dog, Carl Sagan, and his rocket. He records finding out that a man with the same name and birthday as his dead father has an address in Las Vegas. He records eating at Johnny Rockets for the first time with his new friends, who are giving him a ride to find his dead father (who might not be dead!), and losing Carl Sagan in the wilds of Las Vegas, and discovering he has a half sister. He even records his own awful accident. Cheng delivers a sweet, soulful debut novel with a brilliant, refreshing structure. His characters manage to come alive through the “transcript” of Alex’s iPod recording, an odd medium that sounds like it would be confusing but really works. Taking inspiration from the Voyager Golden Record released to space in 1977, Alex, who explains he has “light brown skin,” records all the important moments of a journey that takes him from a family of two to a family of plenty.
Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-18637-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
Not as strong as the series opener, but the space battles galore will satisfy returning fans.
Lunar Jones and Dread the dragon rally the Dread Knights to defend Mars from attack by Triton, the dragon from Neptune’s largest moon.
About a year has passed since 14-year-old Lunar Jones became a dragoon and bonded with Dread, the planetary dragon of Mars. In this second series entry, Mars is now productive and again accepting Earthers as settlers, while Lunar adjusts to being in a leadership role, despite being younger than most of those he commands and “responsible for protecting all of Mars.” Proctor (strategy), Doc (programming), Little Will (lead scout), and Mara (who’s nicknamed “Wildcard”) reprise their crucial roles, while the story is fleshed out with other familiar faces, a batch of new recruits, and dragoons and dragons from throughout the solar system. Upon the approach of unknown vessels into Mars’ atmosphere, Lunar and Dread recall uncomfortable rumors about hostility from Neptune’s dragons, and the battles begin. Lunar narrates most chapters; occasional sections are told from Proctor’s point of view. A whiff of romantic attraction doesn’t impede the nonstop action, and the epilogue points to more entries to come. The dragon backstory holds together, although several innovations that appear at just the right time and support healing or offer battle advantages feel like overly easy solutions. Most humans present white.
Not as strong as the series opener, but the space battles galore will satisfy returning fans. (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781665946544
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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