A satisfying balance of angst and heart.
Two trans teens find, then lose, then find each other.
Arden doesn’t want to leave Los Angeles for his mom’s tiny hometown of Winifred, Michigan, but after his mom loses her movie industry job, he has no choice. Meanwhile, Gabe is excited to leave Shelby, Illinois, for the sunnier pastures of Pasadena, but he worries about making new friends. Both the white 17-year-olds are out as trans to their supportive families and some friends, and each boy worries about how he’ll fare with his identity in his new locale. A chance meeting at a Motel 6 in Nebraska allows them to bond over their favorite queer band, Damaged Pixie Dream Boi (which has broken up but still has “a niche but very dedicated fan base”). Their meeting also gives them each something to search for once they reach their respective destinations. Arden is grumpy and jaded, Gabe is shy and insecure, but they both slowly find their people, who help them reconnect after each one drops breadcrumbs through different corners of the DPDB internet fandom. Although the story somehow feels incomplete, driven more by each character’s sense of dissatisfaction and disruption than anything else, it’s nevertheless a sweet, idealistic romance with a refreshing lack of transphobia that will serve as a pleasantly escapist read.
A satisfying balance of angst and heart. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 20, 2025
ISBN: 9780063373778
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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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