A high-energy homage to 1990s teen movies.
In Backus’ debut YA novel, two best friends, one straight and one gay, conspire to break up their private school’s most popular couple.
Zack Standish doesn’t fit in with the rich kids at Watson Christian Academy in the Seattle suburbs, where his offbeat skater-boy look causes him to stick out in a crowd. Imagine his delight when his best friend from childhood suddenly moves back to town after five years in Los Angeles. Josh Bradshaw is the same old guy, but he’s got something to tell Zack before they pick up their friendship where it left off: Josh is gay. And for years Josh has been secretly in love with Zack’s archrival, Brian “Superjock” Esau. Zack loathes Brian, the school’s star athlete, because he’s dating the girl whom Zack is in love with—the gorgeous Missy Hoff. Josh is pretty sure that Brian reciprocates his feelings, which gives Zack a crazy idea: What if Zack and Josh conspire to wreck Brian and Missy’s relationship? “ ‘You want us to break them up for our own devices?!’ Josh leaped to his feet as Zack nodded. ‘Why, for God’s sake?’ ‘For sex, of course! Why else?’ ” It’s a bonkers plan—the best ones always are—and it only gets wilder after the boys accept the help of Brian’s sister, Jamie, the school’s resident manipulator. The high school culture that Backus creates feels notably cinematic; it’s not at all realistic, but it’s entertaining, nonetheless. The author gives the plot some appealing dimension by including Brian and Missy as point-of-view characters, adding unexpected depth to the king and queen of the school; Brian is in therapy to figure out why he isn’t happy with his life, and Missy doesn’t feel secure in the relationship because she suspects that Jamie hates her. Overall, the book has a big heart and should please fans of both high-school comedy films and YA fiction.
A high-energy homage to 1990s teen movies.Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2022
ISBN: 9781611534665
Page Count: 326
Publisher: Torchflame Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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