Plenty of punch in a short space.
In this entry in The Gift series featuring a group of African-American teens, Rashawn is granted a paranormal ability that enables him to detect affection.
Rashawn despairs that he can never tell when girls really like him. He chooses to have his left ear grow warm whenever he is around someone who truly likes someone else. He’s embarrassed to learn that his ear grows toasty when he’s around his parents, who remain crazy about each other. He realizes that he will have to get any prospective girlfriends alone in order to be able to tell if the girl really likes just him instead of anyone in the vicinity. He joins a cooking class at the local teen center and meets a cute girl named Kennedy, but his ear stays cold. Meanwhile, he can’t figure out why his ear burns whenever he’s around his friend Terrell. Can Rashawn get that ear burning when he’s alone with Kennedy? Karre cleverly uses an intrusive narrator to lead readers to make inferences and keep the pages turning: “You know who Kennedy’s dad is. Oh yes, you do.” She doesn’t shy from weighty issues, tackling racial profiling (or “driving while black”) from both the driver’s and law enforcement’s side. The ultraslim book has the chance to appeal to an audience that may be reluctant to try a longer book.
Plenty of punch in a short space. (Paranormal romance. 12-18)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4677-3511-7
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Darby Creek
Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2014
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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