Lovable, frothy, and happy-making.
A story full of drama and song.
Rising senior Arya Khanna’s older sister, Alina, is finally home, and the whole family is up to their necks in wedding preparations. Amid the planning and anticipation of an elaborate Punjabi celebration, Arya finds herself torn: Her two best friends, Andy and Lisa, have broken up after they recently started dating each other. Arya no longer knows what hanging out together will be like. Meanwhile, she’s stuck being vice president on the student council, as she lost the election to soccer player Dean, a white boy who might be frustrating but is also really good-looking. Things at home are not all song and dance, either, especially with Arya’s latent resentment toward her sister for leaving home, which requires Arya to deal with their workaholic father and a mother who’s showing signs of depression. Written like a Bollywood movie, complete with intermission, the book has all the vital ingredients—family drama, an enemies-to-lovers romance, and lots of scrumptious food—not to mention the lineup of films that are constantly being watched. Desi references are woven naturally throughout, the romance is adorable, and the story is well paced. Readers who pick up this debut, inspired by the sheer fun of it all, will wish for some masala chai and chaat and then put on a Bollywood number and dance, inspired by the sheer fun of it all.
Lovable, frothy, and happy-making. (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: Jan. 9, 2024
ISBN: 9781250895134
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2023
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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