(2) 4-6 Cuevas (The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez; Cuba in My Pocket, rev. 11/21) presents another humorous, sensitive, and compelling story, with hints of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. Rafael, a twelve-year-old Cuban American from Miami, likes to lose himself in role-playing games with his friends. These extended fantasy adventures help him forget how much his life has changed since his mother became ill. After a game-based prank goes badly, his father sends him away for the summer to Rancho Espanto in New Mexico. There Rafa makes new friends while working as a ranch hand, but still living mostly in his fantasy world. When he encounters what he believes is a ghost and has glimpses of alternate realities, Rafa must confront his own "ghosts" and deal with his fears in real life. The character experiences northern New Mexico through a newcomer's eyes, and Cuevas's descriptions of grooming horses, hiking in canyons, and eating green chilies are vivid and immediate. The author incorporates Cuban Spanish words and phrases naturally into the narrative. Topics of illness, death, anxiety, and PTSD give this book some depth but do not overwhelm the story or detract from its appeal to a diverse audience.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2023

(2) YA In this second book in the King of Scars duology (King of Scars, rev. 7/19, part of Bardugo's sprawling Grishaverse), King Nikolai is fighting to brace his small Ravkan kingdom against impending invasion by the ­Fjerdans, a superstitious people who fear the Grisha for their magical powers and either execute or enslave them as dangerous automatons in their army. Meanwhile, Nikolai's spy and friend Nina is working undercover in the household of a powerful Fjerdan witchhunter--and falling in love with the ­witchhunter's daughter. Nikolai, with his seemingly unrequited feelings for his ­ultra-competent general Zoya, is a thoroughly likable protagonist, the more so when he engineers a climactic solution that will surprise and delight readers in its novelty and rightness. Plotting on a sweeping geo-magical-political canvas, Bardugo manages to hold each element's tension while constantly switching between story lines: new technology and old magic; tricksters, imposters, and ruses that pay off; romance; and desperate bids to save beloved family members--all of which keep the action moving and reader interest high.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2021