Yep turns to pure fantasy in this story of a several-hundred-year-old dragon princess traveling the land with a young orphan boy. The two befriend each other on first encounter when he is ridiculed for seeing a unicorn and she is disguised as a helpless old woman. Soon they are up against a common enemy and fleeing together as the dragon, Shimmer, takes her true shape and carries Thorn, the boy, on her back. Despite Shimmer's contempt for humans, she allows Thorn to accompany her in pursuit of Civet, a witch who has stolen the dragon tribe's inland sea. Thereafter Thorn is determined to prove himself useful, Shimmer continues to insist regally that she needs no such help, and each saves the other's life several times over. Their quest takes them into the ever-denser forest of the wicked Keeper, who battles them in midair with his monstrous pets and a magical burning net. Outdoing the keeper, they make their painful way across the dragons' old dried-up salt seafloor; battle Civet's tigers inside the Weeping Mountain; and finally defeat the witch with a hair from the tail of that Chinese folk hero Monkey—but then take pity on the culprit, and spare her, when they hear her story of betrayal. Yep does not appear to have any compelling reason for bringing these two together and putting them through this course, which borrows elements from Chinese legend (as he explains in a note), but seems well within the mode of our juvenile fantasies, even to the motif of the reluctant developing friendship. But for fanciers of fantasy as travelogue of enchantment, there are descriptive passages of spotlight intensity and an overlay of visual embroidery—plus attention to the protagonists' physical sensations, including those involved in the process of changing from human to dragon form.
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1982
ISBN: 0064402274
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Harper & Row
Review Posted Online: Oct. 24, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1982
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
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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