Heartbreaking, heartening, wondrous.
The war between the Aylish and the Brightlings continues in this sequel to Songlight (2024).
Knowledge of the earlier volume is a must as readers are immediately plunged back into the action. Peace talks in Northaven have gone horribly wrong. Fleeing the carnage, Elsa, her mother, Heron, and Kingfisher head into the dense Brightland forest. Unbeknownst to Elsa, her love, Rye Tern, has escaped from a Chrysalid House; the metal headband blocking his ability to communicate using songlight is still attached. Meanwhile, Piper, Elsa’s estranged brother, is questioning his loyalties, but he continues to work for Lord Kite, Brightlinghelm’s new leader, whom Queen of Propaganda Sister Swan also serves. Elsa’s friend Nightingale, who’s a prisoner of Sister Swan, tries to convince Swan to use her influence over the Brightlings to further peace with the Aylish, while she secretly communicates with Elsa through songlight. Diary entries from 17-year-old Petra of Sealand, a remote island with a technologically advanced society, appear throughout; she’s traveling on the airship Celestis as part of a surveillance mission, seeking new land where her people can expand. This volume, which sets events up for the trilogy closer, deftly explores a range of human differences against the backdrop of a lush, immersive world populated by characters who are diverse in appearance and culture. The whiplash of experiencing heartache and hope in rapid succession leads to thought-provoking questions, and a revelation that has unforeseen consequences will leave readers eager for the next volume.
Heartbreaking, heartening, wondrous. (Dystopian. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9780063358263
Page Count: 452
Publisher: Storytide/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
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
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
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