A bittersweet and sincere coming-of-age story.
A teen boy finds himself after a tragic loss.
Iranian American high schooler Kamran Khorramian’s life is in upheaval. Two years ago, Kam’s boyfriend, Ash Greene, who’s cued white, disappeared during a camping trip in Joshua Tree National Park. Everyone, including Bodie Omidi, Kam’s lifelong best friend (who’s also gay and Iranian American), wants him to move on, but he just can’t let go—not as long as he believes that Ash could still be alive. The narrative structure engagingly alternates between Kam’s freshman and junior years. In freshman year, Kam and Ash meet and bond over a shared love of the music of Lana Del Rey, but Ash’s unpredictable behavior makes their relationship hard. In junior year, Kam struggles with grief, racially charged ostracization, and figuring out his future. Kam also has to learn to cope with the impact of substance abuse in his family, finding support and understanding in Alateen during junior year. Both timelines converge in an emotional denouement. The storytelling relies heavily on Kam’s amnesia surrounding the night of Ash’s disappearance, which feels cliched, and the ending is sweet but feels tonally disparate from the rest of the book. Ultimately, however, many of the novel’s elements come together to create a poignant and enjoyable whole that sensitively but honestly explores relationships, grief, identity, and addiction.
A bittersweet and sincere coming-of-age story. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2024
ISBN: 9780063339637
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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