A timely exploration of ’90s Los Angeles during racial upheaval and one girl's awakening.
The final weeks of high school for a wealthy, black teen are marked by the Los Angeles riots.
Ashley and her family are well off—she lives in a large house, has a nanny, and attends a private school with little diversity in the student body. Although there are 12 other black students at her school, she doesn’t hang out with them. Her friends are rich, white, and free with microaggressions. During the last weeks of senior year, their primary concerns are dates for prom, hanging out, and waiting for college acceptance letters. On TV, the trial of four of the police officers who beat Rodney King plays incessantly. When the officers are acquitted and the city erupts in violence, Ashley’s sister joins in the protests, her uncle desperately tries to save her grandmother’s business in the heart of the hot zone, and Ashley struggles to make sense of it all. Before the incident of police brutality toward Rodney King and subsequent lack of justice, Ashley had not explored what it meant to be a young black woman in the social sphere she was traveling in and in the world. Unfortunately, despite this catalyst she remains an underdeveloped character. Even with the memorable setting and explosive moment in time, the novel's struggles with pacing weaken the tension. However, the explorations of race and socio-economic privilege are valuable and will speak to readers who have not previously confronted or thought about these issues.
A timely exploration of ’90s Los Angeles during racial upheaval and one girl's awakening. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6272-4
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2020
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
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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