The up-to-the-minute details about travel in Europe make this an engaging, enjoyable, and even informational read.
Seventeen-year-old Nora Parker-Holmes has only one obstacle to her upcoming European grand tour: her mother, “five foot three inches tall, newly minted paralegal, and parental nightmare.”
The white teen’s artist grandfather has prepared a treasure hunt for her with clues to various artworks in different European cities. Nora is excited to go abroad for the first time and to pursue her dream of becoming a great artist, but her enjoyment is cut short by her mother’s insistence on accompanying her and micromanaging her every move. Her mother regards art as a disposable hobby and strongly discourages Nora from pursuing it—which makes Nora more determined than ever to succeed. She finally comes into her own during an intensive art course in rural Ireland, where her social life perks up considerably when she meets a charming Irish white boy and his friends. Rapprochement between mother and daughter comes in Florence, in front of a painting of her grandfather’s that incorporates Nora’s fan-fiction cartoons. In a satisfying conclusion, Nora’s ambition is vindicated in her mother’s eyes, and mother and daughter learn to appreciate each other for who they truly are. Nora’s first-person narration does not particularly stand out from the crowd, but her artistic bent gives her character some individuality, and it’s hard to beat a European holiday for vicarious fun
The up-to-the-minute details about travel in Europe make this an engaging, enjoyable, and even informational read. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 2, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-448-49381-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
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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