Fast-paced intrigue keeps the reader hanging on as Paulie pieces together clues to the discomfiting truth behind the...
Suspense, heartbreak, a healthy dose of athletics—this novel has everything that Crutcher’s longtime fans have come to expect, and more.
When distance swimmer Paul “Paulie Bomb” Baum confesses to his girlfriend that he’s cheated on her, he turns to his mentor for advice. During lunch period, Mr. Logsdon—Logs—runs an open classroom where students can freely air their feelings and opinions. Paulie and Hannah’s breakup takes a back seat to the disappearance of straight-A student and Period 8 regular Mary Wells, aka the Virgin Mary. Meanwhile, semi-nemesis Arney seems a lot more manipulative than Paulie would have expected from the student body president, especially when he worms his way into Hannah’s good graces. With his signature straightforward storytelling, economy of language and credible teen voices, the author stretches into new territory here, exploring the emotional toll being coerced into sex against their wills takes on boys as well as girls. While at times plot elements seem disconnected against a backdrop of a wide array of characters and motivations, there’s a lot here that will appeal to teens, including the way that Logs, nearing retirement, plays a little fast and loose with confidential information.
Fast-paced intrigue keeps the reader hanging on as Paulie pieces together clues to the discomfiting truth behind the strange, shadowy behavior of people he trusted. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-191481-2
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
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
BOOK REVIEW
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