A fast-paced, thrilling diversion.
Five asexual teens infiltrate an illegal den of high-roller gamblers to expose a crime boss with plans to monopolize the Las Vegas Strip.
When the FBI arrests his mother, the CEO of the Golden Age Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, 17-year-old Jack Shannon flies home for the summer. The FBI has had its eye on the Shannons for decades, but this time they have sufficient evidence to take action, and Jack knows exactly who gave it to them: his mother’s bitter rival, crooked hotel owner Peter Carlevaro. Despite his older sister’s insistence, Jack has no intention of letting it go. With the help of his four best friends—members of an online group of asexual teens he’s never met in person—and a backpack full of poker chips, Jack sneaks into a secret gambling club in search of evidence to save his family and take down Carlevaro. The self-aware, conversational style of the first-person narration balances astute, snarky critique and a flair for drama. Each time Jack makes a move, the stakes increase. Honesty, accountability, and family stand out as significant themes in Jack’s character development. His all-ace friend group highlights the diversity of identities within the spectrum of asexuality and affirms the fluidity of sexuality. As well as Jack, who reads as White, the central characters include an aromantic, Latinx, gender-nonconforming boy; a Vietnamese American and German nonbinary teen; and an implied Black girl who is a hacker prodigy.
A fast-paced, thrilling diversion. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-68263-466-0
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Peachtree Teen
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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
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
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