In this sweet romance, a serendipitous moment paves the way for radical growth and transformation.
Two college freshmen face the challenges of dating across many differences in background and identity.
Seventeen-year-old Deja Martin wants to explore life beyond small-town North Carolina, and college is the perfect opportunity. Nature lover Deja has a full scholarship to her first-choice school, the University of Maryland; she plans to become a cosmetic chemist. Before fall semester starts, she visits College Park to dispel any lingering fears—and, empowered by her first taste of autonomy, she goes to get a tattoo and meets Raja Sharma. The 18-year-old Nepali American boy’s good looks are as mesmerizing as his artistic talents. Their connection is electrifying, but their delicate romance is threatened by external pressures. Raja’s parents expect him to become an engineer and marry an upper-caste Nepali girl; courting a Black American Christian would be an act of rebellion. The men in Deja’s family have concerns about her being with a city boy who isn’t Christian or Black—will he understand what it’s like for Black women in America? The pair must decide: When you’re from different worlds, is love truly enough? Told in alternating first-person narration, the novel features rich characterization wrapped in vulnerability and the whirlwind magic of young love. Grounding her story in relatability and realism, LaDelle carefully depicts how cultures shape personal identities. The teens’ relationship is endearing, and they push each other to become better people.
In this sweet romance, a serendipitous moment paves the way for radical growth and transformation. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: May 20, 2025
ISBN: 9781665948678
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: today
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
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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