A touching story of resilience.
Split between two cultural identities, a Nigerian and Irish girl navigates difficult family and school experiences.
It’s 1990, and 16-year-old Lily, who’s living in Manchester, England, prepares for a return to her birthplace of Nigeria for the fifth anniversary of her father’s death. Flashbacks to her childhood in 1980s Lagos introduce readers to a young, quiet Lily who’s contending with being the youngest sibling by far (Maggie, Luke, and Sophie are 7, 9, and 13 years older, respectively), having an emotionally distant Nigerian father who’s battling mental illness, and an Irish mother whom she yearns to be closer to. With her father’s mental health worsening and political turmoil, including military coups, creating danger, Lily’s sent to Manchester to live with Luke and the family of his girlfriend, who’s also Nigerian and Irish. “I hate the way everything keeps changing.…All I have is myself,” Lily later confesses—although she’s determined to grapple with the series of life-altering changes she faces. Anyakwo’s debut, which was originally released in 2023 to critical acclaim in the U.K. and Ireland, offers readers an emotional story of survival, grief, and tenacity. The parallel timelines unfold over the novel’s three parts, adding interesting cultural context and space for Lily’s evolution. Though somber at times, the story’s heaviness is warranted, with the author exploring themes of physical abuse, colorism, and racism in a well-developed setting.
A touching story of resilience. (author’s note) (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9781632461650
Page Count: 288
Publisher: IgKids
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024
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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