A thoughtful and compelling personal story set amid larger societal issues.
A grieving, lonely teen unexpectedly lands in the middle of a political protest.
It’s 2013, and Alex faces the summer before his senior year with the grim acceptance that his only friend is Mr. Monaghan, an 85-year-old man he reads to at an adult day center for his required community service. Alex is shocked but thrilled to get a call from cute, unattainable Cassie, “the most Catholic girl on the planet who isn’t an actual nun”—they have known each other since their elementary years in Catholic school, but they aren’t exactly friends. She asks him to come to the Texas Capitol building for something important, which turns out to be a filibuster for Senate Bill 5, proposing a ban on abortions after 20 weeks. Alex is only vaguely aware of the controversy, and he experiences many reckonings throughout the day. This smart, poignant novel effectively weaves the backstory of the death of Alex’s best friend into the present-day events, portraying Cassie, who is there in support of the abortion ban, as intelligent and caring even as it makes clear the hypocrisy of the politicians involved in its proposal. Well-drawn secondary characters shine, including confident, compassionate Iranian American Shireen, Alex’s classmate and former friend who is present to support the filibuster, and foulmouthed Mr. Monaghan, who is an astute, progressive role model. Cassie is cued Latine; other major characters read White.
A thoughtful and compelling personal story set amid larger societal issues. (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: June 20, 2023
ISBN: 9781635830866
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Flux
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
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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