More effective as an exploration of the odd moments of transition as a blended family struggles to cohere than as a mystery.
Two stepsisters are preoccupied by weird characters who keep popping up around their Florida town.
The idea of turning an old house into a bed-and-breakfast might appeal to their newly married parents, but for teenagers Nick and Luna, painting and cleaning are dull jobs they’re eager to escape. Compelling distraction comes in the form of two people they spot around the town and dub Mr. Creep and Bony, who fail to match up with any of the usual relationship templates: Are they father/daughter? Boyfriend/girlfriend? Combining Luna’s photography skills and Nick’s intuitiveness, they manage to put together a case against Mr. Creep that no one will listen to until Luna’s renegade father makes an extended visit. Henley and Stuckey-French, both veteran novelists, steer the plot slowly despite the mystery-novel framework. The majority of their skill is spent on lilting prose, such as, “Those girls are a misery train bearing down on me.” It is lovely, but it makes the girls, who take turns narrating the novel, seem like adults playacting as teenagers. Naïve 14-year-old Nick does make a good foil for jaded 16-year-old Luna, who tells readers “I’d already had sex, and by that I mean full-fledged fucking, by the time I was her age” and describes her revulsion at giving a boy a blow job.
More effective as an exploration of the odd moments of transition as a blended family struggles to cohere than as a mystery. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-938126-26-0
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Lacewing/Engine
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
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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