by Amalie Jahn ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 27, 2023
A superior, sisterly road drama with a last-act surprise.
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A teenage girl tries to repair her shattered relationship with her younger sister during a road trip to amusement parks across the United States in Jahn’s YA novel.
Pennsylvania sisters Elise, who narrates, and Wylla go on a marathon scavenger-hunt contest that takes them through major American amusement parks over the course of two weeks. Along the way, they gather hidden tokens based on clues provided by the sponsor. But it’s not all fun and games; the past autumn, a long-standing relationship between 17-year-old Elise, younger sister Wylla, and their childhood pal Logan came to a dramatic end due to Elise’s fateful decisive action—scandalous details of which are revealed piecemeal. Furthermore, a violent car crash the previous March left Elise with lingering anxiety. Nonetheless, as they travel with a curious crew of other contestants, the sisters tentatively try to mend their relationship—or at least Elise attempts to do so amid agonized self-searching and PTSD symptoms: “It’s hard to believe in yourself when no one else does either. Not Mom. Not Wylla....Which is probably why I always assumed that the reason I never had a boyfriend was because unlike Wylla, I was simply unlovable.” The Logan incident and the sisters’ sibling rivalry and dysfunctional upbringing are hashed out, but Elise feels Wylla is holding back something vitally important. Although the plot involves a lot of theme-park attractions, this is a probing and self-reflective psychological tale, and not a narrative roller coaster. Still, there are plenty of real coasters among the speed tours of Dollywood, Cedar Point, Kings Island, Busch Gardens, and so on. To Jahn’s credit, none of this feels like travelogue, though a sidebar on Tennessee’s engaging, interactive Titanic museum certainly sells the place. Near the end, the author presents a whip-snap plot twist, cannily forcing the reader to rethink and reinterpret all that has gone before. As a result, quite a few readers won’t mind getting on the ride a second time.
A superior, sisterly road drama with a last-act surprise.Pub Date: June 27, 2023
ISBN: 9780991071395
Page Count: 326
Publisher: BermLord
Review Posted Online: April 25, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Adam Silvera ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 6, 2025
Raw, delicate, and deeply caring.
When Death-Cast doesn’t call, fate intertwines the lives of two boys, both haunted by their pasts and with futures they can’t escape.
In this third installment of the series that opened with 2017’s They Both Die at the End, Paz Dario waits every night for Death-Cast to call—as it should have for his father nearly 10 years ago, when Paz shot him to save his mother’s life. But the call never comes. Death-Cast killed Paz’s dreams of an acting career: No one will hire him now because the world sees him as a villain. When Paz tries (not for the first time) to put an end to his suffering, an unexpected encounter with Alano Rosa, the heir of Death-Cast, stops him. Both in a place of desperation, Alano and Paz sign a contract to live for Begin Days instead of waiting for their End Days. As suspenseful and emotionally wrenching as the previous titles in the series, this new installment explores heavy themes of abuse, mental health, self-harm, and suicide. Paz grapples with a recent diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Silvera surrounds Alano and Paz with a web of complex relationships. Although the protagonists fall fast for one another and form a deep connection over Alano’s desire to support Paz, Silvera emphasizes the importance of professional help. Both Alano and Paz have Puerto Rican heritage. The cliffhanger ending promises more to come.
Raw, delicate, and deeply caring. (content warning, resources) (Speculative fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780063240858
Page Count: 720
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
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by Daniel Aleman ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 4, 2021
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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