A breezy romantic comedy starring two pairs of LGBTQ teens stays pleasantly upbeat but hits a few false notes. Lance has a date to meet Sergio. Lance brings his friend Allie. Sergio brings his friend Kimiko, and two sets of crushes ignite. Lance is anxious about Sergio's being bi. Sergio worries that Lance is too clingy. Kimiko fears that Allie is out of her league. Allie has a boyfriend but wonders if she might be bi... and falling for Kimiko. The third-person narrator switches perspectives with a dizzying briskness, as the four teens flirt, gossip and brood in occasionally cringeworthy teenspeak ("putting the make," "You did a hella thing" and an enthusiastic, "Like, yeah!"). Amid the giddy energy a few serious issues arise. Lance comes to understand his own biphobia; two teens struggle with homophobic parents; the boys (but not the girls) work to decide and agree upon how fast to move sexually. The portrayal of Kimiko and her family is marred by the use of Asian stereotypes: She and Sergio call her rigid and intolerant mother a "Dragon Lady" and refer to her "Samurai face," and Allie's "Japan-geek" fascination with Kimiko's ethnicity is never problematized. Still, readers who can overlook the stereotypes and clunky slang will enthusiastically root for both couples. (Fiction. 12 & up)
Pub Date: April 19, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4169-3773-9
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2011
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
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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