A thought-provoker that will leave readers contemplating the line between family loyalty and self-preservation.
Shinoda’s first novel introduces readers to 17-year-old Clare Tovin and her Family Skeleton.
Clare’s 29-year-old brother Luke has been in and out of prison for most of Clare’s life. Skeleton is the silent, Cuban cigar–smoking, brandy-drinking specter of Luke’s crimes, a constant reminder of Clare’s shame at having a criminal for a brother. When Luke announces that he is being released early from his most recent incarceration, Clare begins to hope that maybe this time it will be different; maybe Luke will change, and Skeleton will go away for good. Her controlling mother defends Luke at every turn, claiming that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but Clare finds unexpected allies in her crush, surfer-boy Ryan, her other older brother, 20-something Peter, and even Skeleton. The heartbreaking first-person narration alternates between past and present, and Clare eventually discovers the big brother she adores is guilty of crimes far more violent than repeated theft to fund his alcohol and drug habits. Shinoda’s use of Skeleton as a literary device is brilliantly done and never overdone; his interactions with Clare are silent but full of meaning.
A thought-provoker that will leave readers contemplating the line between family loyalty and self-preservation. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4169-9393-3
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Jan. 21, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2014
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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