A light and entertaining tale that also addresses serious real-world topics.
Zora’s summer goes from tolerable to unforgettable when an unlikely romance develops.
Zora, a young, black community organizer, commutes from her New Jersey home to a pre-college summer program at a local Ivy League university where most of the students are so wealthy she feels like she’s in a different world. She survives by texting her friend Skye real-time updates. A chance encounter in the library leads to a relationship with Owen, a white boy who, as it turns out, is a real, live prince of a small European country, complete with his own security detail. In their first conversation, Owen owns up to his privilege, and he and Zora connect over the burdens they each feel to live up to external expectations despite the enormous differences between their backgrounds. Much is riding on Zora’s academic success in the program—benefits to both herself and her community—but she can’t help falling for the charming prince. She agrees to give their relationship a try, and when he invites her to a major public event, Zora must pull together all her confidence to get through it. Readers will root for smart, talented Zora as she navigates the world of the rich; her voice is humorous, and her imperfect family is believable.
A light and entertaining tale that also addresses serious real-world topics. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: July 30, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-33272-8
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Point/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
PROFILES
PERSPECTIVES
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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