A timely examination of consent, power, and who owns the rights to the truth.
A new friendship leads a Black high school newspaper editor to pen an article that attempts to expose the real power behind her prep school football team’s undefeated seasons.
Parker Adams wants to continue the Seton Academic High School football legacy started by his older brother, Cooper, to secure the team’s 13th undefeated season and take home a state championship. But the season unravels when a varsity player loses a flash drive with compromising information. On top of that, Parker’s girlfriend, Michelle Rodriguez, hears that he slept with her best friend, Britt MacDougal. Parker is looking to restore his image by having junior Alyson Jacobs, editor of The Seton Story, write a glowing piece about him. She and J Turner, her boyfriend and Seton’s junior varsity quarterback—who’s on track to become the school’s first Black quarterback—are bused in from a nearby town. Football is J’s ticket to a college scholarship, and he and Aly enjoy the perks of the town’s worship of the team. However, Aly idolizes the friendships of Britt, Michelle, Bianca Patel, and Kelly Donahue, a quartet of wealthy, glamorous girls, and she supports Britt when she accuses Parker of sexual misconduct. Aly’s and J’s backstories are limited, and their relationship feels underdeveloped; the focus is on their existence in connection to the elite Seton students as the racially diverse cast members explore the privileges conferred by gender and money.
A timely examination of consent, power, and who owns the rights to the truth. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-52934-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 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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