An exceedingly well-written, powerful, and suspenseful novel that lights the path toward truthfulness and healing.
When high schooler Emma learns that her father has been arrested, she suspects that it is connected to her best friend, but she can’t imagine how much her world is about to change.
Emma quickly learns that her dad has been accused of inappropriate sexual contact by Hannah, the girl who rescued her from an otherwise friendless existence. The accusation is a bombshell that threatens to destroy the girls’ relationship as well as Emma’s family, which consists of her mom, dad, and 6-year-old brother. The gripping story unfolds in chapters alternating between Emma’s first-person narration of the present day and second-person narration of the past. This device builds suspense and helps readers string together clues. What was the scandal that made Emma’s family move from San Francisco to a small town in Oregon? Why does she sleep with a knife under her pillow? Vivid descriptions bring scenes to life while imaginative metaphors compassionately depict Emma’s interior struggles. In less deft hands the inclusion of fairy tales written by Emma in her diary might feel heavy-handed, but here they add to the thematic substance. Depictions of forensic interviewing and children’s advocacy centers add to the believability of the plot. A content warning foreshadows the difficult topics addressed. All main characters are White.
An exceedingly well-written, powerful, and suspenseful novel that lights the path toward truthfulness and healing. (resources) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 8, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-66590-694-4
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2022
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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