Review by Booklist Review
Rogers follows Man Made Monsters (2022) with a fierce, apocalyptic, time-travel novel. Stevie is a Cherokee teen living in 2052 Fort Worth, Texas, with her parents and young brother, Levi. Through her job in the Modern Art Museum gift shop, she meets Adawi, or Adam, a beautiful intern artist who soon tells her that he has come from the future to save works of art from the coming apocalypse. A pandemic, combined with escalating climate disasters, is about to kick off 90 days of chaos. Adam assures Stevie that the future will be an improvement, but she must reach her family's reservation lands in Oklahoma to survive. When Adam and Stevie fall in love and break the rules of time travel to save Levi, the time line turns unpredictable. Mysteries and confusion abound as Stevie's understanding of her family's involvement shifts again and again. This beautifully designed work of futurism, influenced by Octavia Butler, pushes back hard against the ills of our own world and embraces hope for the next, one built on cooperation and connection.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Though the world is seemingly out of balance and bizarre, catastrophic weather conditions have become increasingly frequent, high school graduate Stevie Henry, who is Cherokee, continues to build a life for herself and her family, whom she loves, particularly her six-year-old brother Levi, who is deathly allergic to tree nuts. To earn money for college, Stevie works at the Modern Art Museum gift shop in 2052 Texas, where she meets handsome new intern Adam. The two bond over their values regarding art, Native culture, and family, but he often disappears and won't name his Indigenous affiliation. Mysteries accumulate as the climate worsens, and soon Adam reveals a disturbing truth: he's from 2201, and he has arrived to save significant art pieces from the upcoming apocalypse. Inspired by Afrofuturism, per an endnote, Cherokee author Rogers (Man Made Monsters) employs smart and empathetic prose to present a realistically rendered science fiction tale that is at once adrenaline-pumping and emotionally moving. In this gripping adventure, Rogers considers the future of Indigenous heritage via an indomitable protagonist who, alongside a plethora of memorably realized characters, navigates tough issues relating to death, familial turmoil, exploitation, and climate collapse. Ages 12--up. Agent: Emily Sylvan Kim, Prospect Agency. (Oct.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up--In the year 2052, Cherokee teenager Stevie is living in Texas and working at an art museum, trying to survive the increasingly volatile weather patterns and look out for her little brother Levi, who has a potentially fatal tree nut allergy. A new arrival at the museum, an Indigenous boy from Costa Rica named Adam who has an ambiguous background, brings with him a dire warning that Stevie doesn't want to believe at first, though it soon becomes clear that she has no choice. As a dystopian future bears down on them, Stevie must accept that Adam really is from the future; he's trying to save some Native art from the coming destruction, and she has an important role to play. Rogers adeptly creates an immediately compelling character in Stevie while also incorporating weighty but clear discussions of ethics in museum collections, climate change and its effect on our environment, racism between and within cultural groups, and the exploitation of Indigenous identities, among other themes. An exciting and intense plot combines with wonderfully realistic emotions as the story shifts from one of slow realization and acceptance to dystopia and uncertainty. VERDICT Enchanting and full of darkly prescient social commentary; a Cherokee dystopia with Afrofuturistic inspiration.--Allie Stevens
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
In the mid-21st century, a Texas teen tries to plan for the future, while around her, people struggle with extreme weather cycles and other threats. Stevie, a member of the Cherokee Nation, is working in a museum gift shop and saving for college. She has healthy relationships with her family (although her parents are "fighting about the end of the world"), and she spends her free time developing her photography skills. One day, a new interning artist piques her interest: Adam says he's Indigenous from Costa Rica but doesn't offer any more information, leading Stevie to wonder if he's lying. But when she presses him, Adam says he's a time traveler from 2201, 150 years in the future, and that he needs her help stealing an important piece of art for him to save because her "world is about to implode." The story's strong pacing allows ample room to explore multiple themes, including people who pretend to be Indigenous, exploitation of people and natural resources, museums' retention of sacred ceremonial items, climate change and environmental devastation, and pandemics. Stevie is a complex character who's dealing with anxiety. Her adoptive father is Black, and her younger brother, Levi, is Black Cherokee; their identities offer room for Rogers to naturally explore racism both from white people and between marginalized communities. Stevie's closest friends bring additional diversity to the cast and help ground Stevie, offering her different perspectives on the world. Presents sharp social commentary folded into an all-too-believable dystopian setting.(Dystopian. 12-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
