A boarding school mystery that tackles fresh topics but struggles to knit together multiple complex narratives.
A mystery upends a London girl’s attempts to heal her grief-stricken life.
Recently orphaned Sade Hussein, a wealthy Nigerian British Muslim 16-year-old, was home-schooled before she entered the Alfred Nobel Academy, an international boarding school. There she meets Elizabeth Wang, her roommate and “house sibling,” a role describing those assigned to help new students acclimate. Sade soon becomes familiar with the school cliques, including the infamous—and beautiful—Unholy Trinity, comprising Persephone Stuart, Julliette de Silva, and queen bee April Owens (who used to room with Elizabeth). Sade’s new friendship with her roommate is abruptly interrupted when Elizabeth goes missing, and the Unholy Trinity approach Sade, curious about what might have happened. Meanwhile, Sade is investigating with Basil dos Santos, Elizabeth’s best friend, when a music box belonging to the missing girl mysteriously appears on Elizabeth’s bed. When attractive playboy athlete Jude Ripley shows an unwanted interest in Sade, one of her new friendships is negatively affected. Along with dealing with a missing roommate and complicated social dynamics, Sade, who struggles with panic attacks and night terrors, is haunted by a ghost girl, who visits her in regular nightmares and begs her for help. The very large cast, the uneven pacing and characterization, and the presence of several complicated storylines slow down the flow of this ambitious story. The characters are broadly diverse in ethnicity and nationality.
A boarding school mystery that tackles fresh topics but struggles to knit together multiple complex narratives. (content warning) (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: March 19, 2024
ISBN: 9781250800848
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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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