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THE SEA KNOWS MY NAME

A perceptive, kaleidoscopic, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful meditation on what it means to survive.

Amid the ruins of Astoria, a coastal country shaped by both mythology and natural disasters, a pirate’s daughter blazes her own path.

Thea’s mother, Clementine, was a scientist until her research indicating the threat of an impending volcanic eruption in their island region was dismissed by male peers—with devastating consequences. Rather than risk becoming a “reproductive commodity” for the survivors who fled to ancient Astorian ruins along the coast of a nearby continent, Clementine built herself and Thea a new home and legacy at sea. Three years later, 17-year-old Thea struggles to be more like her namesake, the goddess of cleverness and rationality, and to embody the brutal, pragmatic strength Clementine considers necessary for survival. After an opportunity to leave Clementine’s fleet swiftly turns nightmarish, Thea seeks peace and solitude near the settlement where childhood friend Wes now lives. Amid the slowly building tension and visceral immediacy of trauma and its aftermath, moments of adventure and discovery shine, reflecting the transformative potency of being seen and believed. Lyrical and wry by turns, Thea’s first-person narration deftly draws sophisticated connections between masterfully plotted past and present timelines and interstitial excerpts of myths as she finds her own ways to survive and slowly rejects patriarchal definitions of strength, control, and credibility. Most major characters are presumed White and straight; Wes is described as having darker skin and is cued as bi.

A perceptive, kaleidoscopic, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful meditation on what it means to survive. (Fantasy. 12-18)

Pub Date: June 14, 2022

ISBN: 978-0-525-55406-6

Page Count: 272

Publisher: Dial Books

Review Posted Online: March 28, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2022

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IF HE HAD BEEN WITH ME

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

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INDIVISIBLE

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

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