Strong worldbuilding anchored by heartfelt relationships brings a stratified world to life.
What if your worth were determined by your IQ at birth?
As a Limited, someone born with an IQ of less than 1111, 16-year-old Diyala lives with her family in the Burrow, a gigantic subterranean community beneath the city of Quartzia. Her opportunities are few, and her actions are closely monitored by the grotesque and cruel griffin bats, terrifying cloned creatures. Those lucky enough to have scores above 1111 receive golden eyes from the National Iris Center and enjoy the privilege of living aboveground, where they attend better schools, earn more, work less, and are waited upon by Limiteds. After Diyala is caught borrowing books from her employer, Professor al-Azizi, he forces her into indentured servitude by threatening to expose her to the police. Intellectually curious Diyala accidentally enters a math competition disguised by her avatar as a Golden, an experience that offers her a glimmer of hope for escape. But a shocking discovery means Diyala must use her wits to stay alive and keep her family safe. Written by a Syrian author and translated from Arabic, this suspenseful novel is set in the year 2095 on the island of Comoros. Although some dialogue is stiff, the imaginative worldbuilding is captivating, the characters are compelling, and Diyala’s relationships with her family are steadfast. Her budding romance with Raji, a kind, golden-eyed, dark-skinned musician with cute dimples, is tender and sweet.
Strong worldbuilding anchored by heartfelt relationships brings a stratified world to life. (Science fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: April 1, 2025
ISBN: 9781477323359
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Center for Middle Eastern Studies
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
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
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
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