Delightful, romantic fun.
Fifteen notable YA authors take on romantic tropes.
Each entry centers on a familiar romance plot convention—named in the story’s subtitle—with the settings and characters’ identities bringing additional variety. In Laura Silverman’s “The Passover Date: Fake Dating,” 18-year-old Rachel Ableman ropes in her middle school crush, Matthew Pearlman, to attend a chaotic family Seder. In Julian Winters’ “What Makes Us Heroes: Hero vs. Villain,” Black superhero-to-be Shai encounters his estranged friend and maybe-villain-in-training, Kyan, while waiting for his ex-boyfriend. While romance naturally is at the forefront, themes of identity, belonging, and social status are developed in many stories. Some protagonists take on patriarchal norms: Gloria Chao’s “Teed Up: Oblivious to Lovers” sees Taiwanese American Sunny Chang competing as the sole female golfer in a junior championship, while Lili Marin of Lilliam Rivera’s “These Strings: Sibling’s Hot Best Friend” longs to take a creative leadership role in the family business, a Latinx traveling puppet theater. In several stories, characters reflect on gender and sexual orientation. For example, Lev from Mason Deaver’s “Boys Noise: Only One Bed at the Inn” plays hooky and takes a trip to New York City with a fellow member of his boy band; he reflects on being gay and trans and the toll of the professional contract that keeps him closeted. From meet-cutes to frenemies to long-gestating feelings, this anthology offers a pleasurable assortment of love connections.
Delightful, romantic fun. (author bios) (Romance anthology. 14-18)Pub Date: Dec. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7624-7234-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Running Press Kids
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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