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I WILL BE OKAY

Name: I WILL BE OKAY
Author: Bill Elenbark
ISBN: 978-1-940442-28-0

by Bill Elenbark ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 30, 2020

Fumbling toward graceful sweetness.

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Under the flashes of fireworks, 15-year-old Matt kisses his best friend, Stick, and soon everything changes.

The pair conclude that July night with an abrupt separation, leaving Matt unsure of what comes next. Then Stick loses his father to a massive heart attack, and their world alters once again. At first, Matt wants to be there for his friend, even though he can’t stop mulling over their kiss. When the two boys initiate a secret one-week relationship trial that abruptly ends once Matt’s mom discovers the pair canoodling, their friendship ruptures amid Matt’s internal struggles over his queerness and Stick’s uncertainties about his sexuality. It’s a long, winding road for Matt and Stick in Elenbark’s solid debut, a tortured, moody rumination on young queer love. Matt, a Puerto Rican, Naruto-obsessed teen with a dash of self-deprecation, struggles to overcome his uneasiness in his own skin, an inner battle amplified by his father’s machismo. For Stick, a white teen who finds solace in drugs and alcohol alongside a reluctant Matt, his father’s death casts doubt over his life, multiracial family (he has 12 mostly adopted siblings), and estrangement from his mother. The author explores the weight of coming out to one’s family and oneself with gentle thoughtfulness, although Matt’s at times unreliable narration threatens to derail this process. It’s all a little messy, uplifting in parts, yet committed to a triumphant finale that withers somewhat under scrutiny.

Fumbling toward graceful sweetness. (Realistic fiction. 12-18)

Pub Date: June 30, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-940442-28-0

Page Count: 250

Publisher: Walrus Publishing

Review Posted Online: May 2, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2020

Categories:

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION

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IF ONLY I HAD TOLD HER

by Laura Nowlin ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 6, 2024

A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.

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In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.

Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.

A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)

Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024

ISBN: 9781728276229

Page Count: 416

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024

Categories:

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT ROMANCE

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INDIVISIBLE

by Daniel Aleman ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 4, 2021

An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.

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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)