A timely and intimate first-person courtroom drama.
Following upon Evangelina Takes Flight (2017), Noble picks up Evangelina de León’s story, highlighting an important and frequently overlooked piece of American history along the way.
After her family’s flight from war-torn Mexico in 1911, they settled into their new home in Texas. Evangelina has graduated from high school and adapted well to her role as a midwife and apprentice to Doc Taylor, who serves the community of Seneca and surrounding areas. She is now a high school graduate with dreams of continuing her education. She hopes to marry her sweetheart and maybe even become the first woman of Mexican descent to graduate from medical school in Texas. However, when she attends the labor of Ramona Healy, a White woman, her dreams come crashing down: Hostile, racist Doc Morley bursts in, spewing insults and chasing her out of the room. When Mrs. Healy later passes away, Evangelina is charged with her murder. The story hurtles along as sexual violence and racism torment the young prisoner from the moment she arrives in jail. Though fictionalized, the novel is grounded in true historical events which saw Mexican refugees and American-born Tejanos facing sham trials, vigilantes, and violent policing without due process. This novel presents a story that is as relevant to and important for contemporary readers as it was in the early 20th century.
A timely and intimate first-person courtroom drama. (afterword) (Historical fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-55885-930-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Piñata Books/Arte Público
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 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
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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