A delightful teen romance about building robots—and new futures.
Opposites attract in this YA debut starring high school engineers.
Uncertain of her future post-graduation, Isabel Maier, who is Filipino and White and a transfer student at Essex Academy for Art, Science, and Technology, is reluctant to apply to colleges or think about choosing a major. Despite procrastinating on a catapult assignment, she reveals her gift for engineering design. Bel’s teacher encourages her to switch to AP physics and try out for the robotics team. Jewish and Mexican robotics (and soccer) team captain Mateo Luna is determined to get early admission to MIT and win this year’s national high school robotics competition. Impressed by Bel’s egg-drop design during tryouts, Teo selects her as their newest teammate, much to everyone’s surprise, including Bel’s. From the get-go, Bel is overlooked by her male cohorts, who depend heavily on Teo’s leadership; teammate Neelam—the only other girl on the team—immediately dislikes her; and even Teo seems to regret his decision as they clash over ideas. Farol Follmuth’s nuanced and honest characterizations remind readers that everyone has the capacity for change. As Teo and Bel’s relationship blooms from teammates to something more, Teo becomes fully aware of his privileged upbringing and the gender bias among his peers, and Bel learns to be a better team player while also standing up for herself. The message is clear: Women deserve to take up space in the STEM world too.
A delightful teen romance about building robots—and new futures. (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: May 31, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-8234-5010-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
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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