A character-driven story of first love and family drama replete with its own soundtrack.
Love blooms between two independent, musically involved teens.
Vada and Luke have long admired one another from afar but finally begin talking during their senior year in high school in Ann Arbor. Each has family ties to the music world that both inspire and tether them, manifesting in their lives in different ways. Vada is determined to grow her music review writing into a career while British-born Luke has made a fierce decision to keep his talent and love for songwriting as something he only does for himself, which his former punk-rock-star dad can’t understand. Told in alternating first-person narration, the slow unfolding of this love story will be relished by teens who favor swooning romances. The palpable understanding of how music speaks to some people’s souls will ring true for serious music lovers—though references to various real-life artists both contemporary and older, from Demi Lovato to the duo’s reverence for Adam Duritz of Counting Crows, may not always resonate. Realistic and messy details about the complicated relationships imperfect adults have with their kids will likely ring true for a broader audience. All main characters are white. Luke’s twin brother, Cullen, is gay and happily coupled up with Luke’s best friend, Zack.
A character-driven story of first love and family drama replete with its own soundtrack. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: July 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-23164-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
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
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
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