Sharp, lovable, and timely.
A newly instated student council president’s ambitious schemes to abolish a dance go awry when his archnemesis, the vice president, suggests a sponsorship with a trending social media app.
As student council president, Wren Martin intends to enact meaningful change before he graduates by eliminating the Dance. The Dance may be the biggest social event of the year, but it eats up over half the student council’s budget, which instead could be used to fix the hole in the auditorium’s stage. Unfortunately, not everyone on the student council agrees with Wren’s revolutionary plan. Even worse, smart, handsome, annoyingly perfect, and inexcusably tall Leo Reyes, the vice president, suggests an alternative to keep the Dance and their budget: a sponsorship with Buddy, an anonymous friendship social media app. This coming-of-age romantic comedy centers on an asexual protagonist in a lighthearted enemies-to-lovers relationship. Wren’s quirkiness and precise comedic timing strike a refreshing balance with his stubborn, jaded attitude, making him as endearing as he is flawed. Social media plays a significant role in the plot, showing both the benefits and drawbacks of online relationships with honesty. Grief and loss also feature as central themes of the story. While Wren reads white, the well-developed cast of secondary characters reflects some diversity, including Leo (cued Latine), Wren’s best friend and her family (implied Black), and the other two student council members (cued Chinese American).
Sharp, lovable, and timely. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781682635988
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Peachtree Teen
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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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