Starred review from March 27, 2017
In a dazzling interplanetary fantasy from the Siegel Brothers, artists Bouma, Rockefeller, and Sun bring to life the cultures, customs, and creatures of a lively new world that will easily appeal to fans of Naruto or Avatar: The Last Airbender. Oona Lee’s older sister, Jessa, was their planet’s most promising sand dancer before she disappeared; awkward Oona can’t even control the sand figures she summons. Their planet, Mon Domani, is beset by cascading environmental crises, and Oona and her classmates are meant to help light an ancient beacon that may bring the galaxy back into balance. But Toki, a rival moon, chooses this moment to attack. In the chaos, Oona finds two allies—An Tzu, a fiercely loyal thief from the planet’s slums, and Jax Amboy, a sports superstar—who recognize gifts in Oona that she doesn’t see. Explosions, attacks, and evildoing are relieved by neatly timed interludes in tranquil settings. The main characters share an unglamorous, pre-
adolescent look, and the authors seize the opportunity to explore issues of race, class, and scarcity. Readers will be all too ready for the planned subsequent books. Ages 8–12.
Starred review from March 15, 2017
Grades 4-7 *Starred Review* Oona is lucky to have grown up in the relative luxury of Sand Dancer Academy, though she's clumsy and the last person anyone would expect to have any special powers. An Tzu ekes out a meager life in the slums surrounding the academy, and when Toki rebels from one of the moons making up the five worlds attack the main power station, he and Oonaalong with Jax Amboy, an athlete with a serious secretfind themselves unexpectedly at the center of the conflict. Together, they navigate the city under siege, flee Toki forces curiously insistent on capturing Oona, and try to make sense of some enigmatic clues they discover along the way. The Siegels' immersive series starter drops readers right into the midst of its fully fleshed-out world, a multiplanet system with simmering conflicts that might look awfully familiar to contemporary readers. When those conflicts come to a head, the disarray in the city is terrifying, which only amplifies the suspense of Oona, An Tzu, and Jax's quest. Bouma, Matt Rockefeller, and Boya Sun's richly detailed panels, filled with fluid shapes, swirling sand, and clearly depicted action, imbue the narrative with vivid, compelling atmosphere, while their figures are refreshingly varied in size, shape, and skin tone. With sensitive writing, gorgeous artwork, and a riveting plot, this is a series to keep an eye on.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)
January 1, 2018
In this sci-fi/fantasy series-opener, three kids--a sand dancer with a missing sister, a homeless orphan, and a celebrity starball player--band together after a neighboring planet attacks their home. This sweeping graphic-novel saga features inventive world-building, with history, mythology, and traditions naturally integrated into the narrative. The nuanced panel illustrations help advance the complex plot and deepen readers' understanding of the intriguing, dynamic characters.
(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
September 1, 2017
"Our worlds will die unless a sand warrior can rise up and light those beacons." In this epic sci-fi/fantasy series opener, three kids from different backgrounds band together after a neighboring planet launches an unprovoked attack on their home planet, Mon Domani. Oona Lee is an unconfident sand dancer, raised with other trainees in relative privilege in the capital city's Sand Castle. The invasion occurs as Oona embarks on a search for her runaway sister--a gifted sand dancer who had been Mon Domani's hope for survival before mysteriously disappearing seven years earlier. Escaping the wreckage of a crashed sky ship, Oona saves orphan An Tzu, a part-vegetal homeless boy living in the slums, and Jax Amboy, a beloved celebrity starball player. The universe's looming environmental crisis has contributed to extreme shortages, economic inequities, and disease; Oona is convinced that finding her sister is the key to averting a planetary catastrophe. This sweeping graphic-novel saga features inventive world-building, with history, mythology, and traditions naturally integrated into the narrative. The nuanced panel illustrations help advance the complex plot and deepen readers' understanding of the intriguing, dynamic characters (though some smaller panels are crowded). The installment ends triumphantly and tantalizingly; readers will eagerly await book two. kitty flynn
(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)