A satisfyingly resonant and page-turning duology closer.
A girl returns home with destruction as her sole purpose—but finds hope in an unexpected place in this follow-up to 2023’s Lucha of the Night Forest.
Sixteen-year-old Lucha has been through a lot but finding her city of Robado nearly empty of life gives her a new and uncomfortable feeling. Throughout her life, she’s seen her community struggle because of the harmful influence of the “forgetting drug” Olvida; her goal now is to eradicate it and destroy the kings, the “cruel men who profited off its existence.” But that will be hard to do in a city filled with hundreds of piled-up bodies. Something terrible has happened in her absence, but it turns out that the survivors are not without leaders. Eventually Lucha finds the Syndicate, a group of rebels intent on taking Robado back from the kings, and in the process, recovering the Olvida they crave. Their goals align well enough for now, so Lucha joins the Syndicate temporarily and helps feed the Robadans. As the time when she’ll betray the Syndicate draws closer, however, she grows conflicted—her goal all along has been to destroy Olvida, but when alliances bend and break, Lucha faces new decisions. Mejia creates a rich, Latin American–coded world bolstered by entrancing prose and a compelling main character. As engrossing as the earlier volume was, this one, with its explorations of addiction, community, and home, is even more compelling.
A satisfyingly resonant and page-turning duology closer. (Fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: Feb. 18, 2025
ISBN: 9780593378403
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Make Me a World
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and...
A deliciously creepy page-turning gem from first-time writer and illustrator Brosgol finds brooding teenager Anya trying to escape the past—both her own and the ghost haunting her.
Anya feels out of place at her preppy private school; embarrassed by her Russian heritage, she has worked hard to lose her accent and to look more like everyone else. After a particularly frustrating morning at the bus stop, Anya storms off, only to accidentally fall down a well. Down in the dark hole, she meets Emily, a ghost who claims to be a murder victim trapped down in the dank abyss for 90 years. With Emily’s help, Anya manages to escape, though once free, she learns that Emily has traveled out with her. At first, Emily seems like the perfect friend; however, once her motives become clear, Anya learns that “perfect” may only be an illusion. A moodily atmospheric spectrum of grays washes over the clean, tidy panels, setting a distinct stage before the first words appear. Brosgol’s tight storytelling invokes the chilling feeling of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (2002), though for a decidedly older set.
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and outward appearance. (Graphic supernatural fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: June 7, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59643-552-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
Both entertaining and well-written; demands and holds readers’ attention.
A duology opener that revisits the world of Divergent (2011).
Beatrice “Tris” Prior is Divergent. But before she can select Dauntless, her Choosing Ceremony is interrupted by a group of factionless rebels, and her good friend is killed. Amid the chaos, Tris sees Evelyn, the wife of Abnegation leader Marcus Eaton—but Evelyn supposedly died years ago. And, shockingly, she’s an Amity woman who’s holding a gun. Tris doesn’t tell anyone, even her father, when he later questions her. Her brother, Caleb, chooses Erudite—the faction that’s most critical toward the Abnegation and their practices—and Tris feels pressured to stay in Abnegation. But when her father tries to erase her memories, she knows she’s unsafe. Tris’ mother helps her escape to the factionless, where Tris meets Four, a Dauntless boy. Their relationship shows her that she was right to leave Abnegation—and that maybe the rebels are correct to want the death of the faction system. As Tris becomes friends with the other “faction failures,” she realizes that no faction is as it seems, and that power is a corrupting influence they can’t escape. This exciting work revisits beloved characters, offering a new understanding of them and of what happens when we stand up and ask questions. Returning fans and those new to this world will appreciate the witty banter, slow-burn romance, and heartache stemming from betrayal and complicated familial love. The leads are cued white.
Both entertaining and well-written; demands and holds readers’ attention. (Dystopian. 13-18)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9780063462595
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2026
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