A heavy-handed story about dysfunctional families.
A juvenile offender is sent to a western Canadian ranch rehabilitation program.
Eugenia Grimm is 16 and a high school dropout. Her depressed father died by suicide when she was 8, her mother walked out when she was 14, and she lives with her eldest brother, Darcy, and his young family. Her other brother, Jackson, is an alcoholic ne’er-do-well. Unfortunately, Eugenia seems to be following in his footsteps. After a young woman spits on Eugenia’s best friend, Luda, and Eugenia attacks her, she is given the chance to attend an alternative program on a ranch rather than being incarcerated. Eugenia has to learn how to work with the wild horses as well as attend therapy sessions. Trust, respect for others (both human and equine), and cooperation with staff come hard as the teens struggle with their individual issues. All are scarred—by fear, mental health issues, and abandonment—but are working toward their visions of a better life. A few hints at heterosexual romance, disappointment in Luda’s friendship, and some dangerous moments with a horse round out the action, but this first-person narrative tells too much and shows too little. Eugenia experiences significant emotional turnaround in an unrealistically short time, and she and other characters never fully come to life. The characters present white except for Indigenous ranch guide Hayden, who is Nisga’a; Luda is queer and nonbinary.
A heavy-handed story about dysfunctional families. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: April 30, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-77337-043-9
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Yellow Dog
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
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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