Although Gen may be hard for readers to connect to, her story is interesting enough they may well stick with her anyway
Pipkin’s debut leads readers on a journey through grief to hope again.
Genesis is a high school senior on the cusp of her 18th birthday in the New Jersey suburbs of New York City. At the open readers find her in the immediate aftermath of an abortion, left alone in Manhattan by her boyfriend, Peter. Classmate Rose and cousin Delilah form the primary emotional support system for Genesis as she grapples with the compounding losses in her life. First, her father’s death, then her inconsolable mother, lost to grief, once-close friendships, and finally the baby and the first love who helped make it. Nevertheless, Peter’s abandonment becomes a fulcrum on which Genesis’ life turns, compelling her to identify her own values and dreams. Despite several trips, falls, and unwise decisions on the way, the payoff is ultimately hopeful. Chapters of first-person stream-of-consciousness narrative are interspersed with short scenes written as a play that flash back to the events leading up to that moment alone in a clinic in the city. At times this narrative style begins to feel narcissistic, as other characters’ motivations are not revealed until the final moments. Ethnic identities of the characters are never explicit, and it would be easy to picture them with any number of combinations, though the overall impression is of predominant whiteness.
Although Gen may be hard for readers to connect to, her story is interesting enough they may well stick with her anyway . (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 27, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-11484-6
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: April 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2017
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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