Readers devour Hopkins regardless, but this is strong and worthy.
Almost six months after his younger brother’s suicide, a high school senior slogs through tangled resentment and guilt.
Matt’s world has never been rich with happiness, what with his cold parents who retreat “to their separate alcohol-soaked / corners.” Dad bitterly rues the one-night stand that created Matt and forced the marriage; their house “is a sponge, / absorbing regret until it can hold / no more and disillusionment drips // through the bloated pores.” Now Matt shoulders his own crushing regret. Luke was three years younger—Matt should have protected him from the homophobic and religious bullies; he should have told adults how depressed Luke was, even sneaking Mom’s Prozac, which can be dangerous for teens. He definitely shouldn’t have been distracted by his girlfriend on Luke’s last, desperate day. Now that very girlfriend seems to be “trading [Matt] in // for Jesus.” The sturdy, fast-reading free-verse poems—which sometimes shift into elegance—give a heavy sense of Matt’s anger and discomfort, as well as how he vacillates between decency and churlishness. Themes of combat-induced PTSD, Christian fundamentalist bigotry, forgiveness, and foreshadowed violence integrate deftly. The climax surprises in the best way. Brief but explicit acknowledgement of the It Gets Better campaign (and why it didn’t help Luke) grounds the contemporary setting.
Readers devour Hopkins regardless, but this is strong and worthy. (Verse fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-8284-5
Page Count: 560
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: June 9, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
A coming-out story featuring diverse characters and a richly rendered international setting.
Bangladeshi-American Rukhsana Ali must choose between her family’s wishes and following her heart.
Although her Muslim immigrant parents approve of her professional dreams of becoming a physicist at NASA, Rukhsana is sure that they won’t be as enthusiastic about her personal dream of spending her life with her secret girlfriend, Ariana, who is white. After winning a prestigious scholarship to Caltech, her professional ambitions seem within reach—until her mother catches her kissing Ariana and she is whisked away to Bangladesh with plans to arrange her marriage. As she battles her parents’ homophobia, Rukhsana simultaneously struggles to help Ariana and her friends back home in Seattle understand the weight of the cultural and social stigmas that she has to fight. Along the way, Rukhsana finds unexpected allies, including her grandmother, who encourages her to fight for what she wants. This witty coming-out story is populated by colorful, nuanced personalities who never lapse into stereotypes. Unfortunately, the fast pace leaves readers little time to digest the most intense moments, including some physical and sexual violence. Likewise, the sheer amount of action leaves certain characters, like Rukhsana’s spoiled but loving brother, insufficient time to fully develop. However, the story is told tenderly and unflinchingly, balancing the horrors of homophobia against the South Asian men and women who risk their lives to fight it each and every day.
A coming-out story featuring diverse characters and a richly rendered international setting. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Jan. 29, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-22701-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2019
An elaborate yet convoluted high fantasy that references Jewish folklore.
In the complicated political fantasy landscape of Enderlain, Mikira Rusel and Arielle Kadar are strong young women forced into dire circumstances.
Ari uses banned Kinnish magic, based on the Jewish myth of the golem, to feed herself. Mikira is from a family who breeds magical horses. Early in the story, Ari is assaulted and robbed, while Mikira’s father, who is deeply in debt and using illegal enchantment to enhance his horses, is arrested. Using the girls’ desperation to their own advantage, Damien Adair and Rezek Kelbra, the sons of two warring noble houses, each devise plots to gain power to control the city. Damien enlists Ari and Mikira in a devious plan to win the Illinir, a series of dangerous horse races held once every decade: Mikira will be the jockey, and Ari will create a golem disguised as a horse. While this dual narrative told in the girls’ alternating points of view is original and engaging, the multiple storylines and numerous characters lead to plot holes that may confuse readers. The languid pace of most of the story leads up to an ending that comes too quickly and leaves many open storylines and unanswered questions. While it’s obvious that a sequel is in the works, the perplexing nature of this book might leave some readers feeling unfulfilled. The main characters have olive or light skin.
An elaborate yet convoluted high fantasy that references Jewish folklore. (map, family trees) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250812360
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2023
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