Snappy banter among a vibrant cast makes for a charming read about finding who and what really matters in life.
Rising senior Tommy questions whether his long-held goals are really what’s best for him.
After working at Sunset Estates retirement community as a server for nearly three years, Tommy asks Natalie, his manager, for a recommendation to prestigious culinary school La Mère Labont, where he would follow his late father’s interrupted dream to become a chef. In her typical sadistic fashion, Natalie sets Tommy three tasks to earn her approval, including training new server Gabe, Tommy’s childhood crush. Though Mexican and Venezuelan American Gabe initially doesn’t recognize Tommy, who is implied White, the two connect and start flirting. The existence of Gabe’s boyfriend and Tommy’s occasional, emotionally unavailable, closeted hook-up partner complicate their potential relationship, however. Traumatic homophobic events from Gabe’s life occasionally punctuate the otherwise lighthearted yet sympathetic atmosphere; narrated through Tommy’s perspective, they represent tonal shifts that are not entirely smoothly integrated. The quips Tommy shares with Gabe as well as best friend and co-worker Ava, who is Black, and Sunset Estates residents and queer elders Al and Willa (both read White) make the short chapters fly past, engrossing readers in the clever repartee without diluting the genuine affection the characters share. An undertone of anxiety grows as college application deadlines approach and Tommy questions what he truly wants in life and what assumptions he’s made, grounding this story in reality while maintaining a hopeful outlook.
Snappy banter among a vibrant cast makes for a charming read about finding who and what really matters in life. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 16, 2023
ISBN: 9780063055025
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
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
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