A richly intimate novel of rebellion, romance, and reggae.
The politically charged story of two girlfriends in 1970s Jamaica.
Despite wholly dissimilar home lives, Irie Rivers and Jillian Casey are music-loving best friends at an elite Jamaican high school. A controversial scholarship from the new progressive government is the only way brown-skinned Irie from the Kingston slums can afford her education. Lighter-skinned Jilly’s wealth and privilege come from her father’s position in the conservative opposition party. But as the girls graduate and struggle with growing political tensions that influence their diverging paths, they also experience the complications and tensions of budding desires. Irie’s father is a record shop owner at the center of reggae’s rise as a voice for a generation of poor Black radicals opposing the status quo that Jilly’s father upholds from the hills, where affluence goes hand in hand with elitism and anti-Blackness. Irie is becoming an impressive reggae singer in her own right, taking Jilly on risky, exciting late-night dance hall excursions. While politically motivated gang violence takes the lives of many in Irie’s community, by the time sheltered Jilly discovers her own father’s degree of responsibility for the death and suffering, personal and political issues may prove to be too much for the teens’ relationship to overcome. Tragedy strikes in the buildup to a key election, as Jamaican history, provocative lyricism, and relatable characters form an effective foundation for this bittersweet queer love story.
A richly intimate novel of rebellion, romance, and reggae. (author’s note) (Historical fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2023
ISBN: 9781250846808
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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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