Haunting, harrowing, and hard to put down.
Slowly and methodically, the tale unfolds of how two sisters spending the summer at their family cottage on the shore of the Connecticut River find themselves at the center of a murder investigation.
Fifteen-year-old Miranda has always walked in the shadow of her older sister, rising med student Lander, yet it is Miranda who shines here, as she alone musters the courage and determination to do what it takes to save her family. Interestingly, the story is told from two perspectives, both those of close third-person narrators. This clever technique allows just enough distance between story and readers to maintain the gauzy, unsettling haze that keeps the truth just out of sight. Unfortunately, the cast of characters feels slightly unbalanced, particularly when it comes to Miranda’s parents and other secondary characters, who are surprisingly underdeveloped given their ultimate roles. If readers can suspend disbelief just long enough to believe that a young teen like Miranda would be left on her own under such dangerous circumstances, they won’t regret going along for the ride. No one writes suspense like Cooney, and this novel will ensnare readers from Page 1 and keep them turning the pages until they, like the nameless young woman at the center of the opening chapter, know for certain who is dead and who is the killer.
Haunting, harrowing, and hard to put down. (Mystery. 13 & up)Pub Date: July 14, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-74291-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2015
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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