Dime’s desire to save her friend transcends artifice and approaches heroism, making for a tremendously affecting novel.
Frank's first novel since Wrecked (2005) is a searing examination of teenage prostitution.
Dime is 14, loves books, and turns tricks. After her foster mother kicked her out, living with Daddy is like something out of a dream. Daddy buys her clothes and sticks up for her against Brandy and L.A., the other girls in the house—and he's so gentle when he takes her virginity. When Daddy needs Dime to make some money, she joins L.A. and Brandy on the track, having sex for coin. The arrival of new girl Lollipop, just 11, makes Dime realize she doesn't love Daddy anymore—and she doesn't want this life. It's only when they realize Lollipop is pregnant that Dime knows what she'll do. If she writes a note that explains everything, people will take care of Lollipop's baby. But what she'll do to protect Lollipop and her baby can only end one way for Dime herself—and it's a sacrifice she's ready to make. The story is related in flashbacks as Dime ponders her note, taking inspiration from The Book Thief and imagining writing it in various allegorical voices: Sex, Violence, Money. Since her overall narration is fairly straightforward, the note device often feels self-conscious rather than artful.
Dime’s desire to save her friend transcends artifice and approaches heroism, making for a tremendously affecting novel. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: May 26, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4814-3160-6
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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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