A charmer with hidden depth.
When Taylor Parker becomes a finalist for Saturday Night Live’s diversity internship, her life explodes.
As a fully closeted lesbian, if she wins, Taylor won’t just be out to her friends and family, she’ll suddenly be out to the world. She has until Christmas, after which the winner’s name will be released. The rest of her life isn’t any easier: She’s growing apart from her best friend, Brooke; hiding a secret romance with beautiful (and out) theater kid Charlotte; and struggling through family crises. As both her romance and ambitions grow stronger, Taylor must force herself to be more than just the funny girl; she must also be courageous about who she is. The book is carried along by a buoyant tone. Taylor is genuinely appealing, a distinct narrator whose showmanship is funny and whose love of stand-up and sketch writing comes across as a true passion. Thomson uses Taylor’s hometown of Salem, Massachusetts, full of quirky locals and locations, to find humor and even pathos in a place associated with persecution in popular culture. Charlotte and Taylor are refreshingly passionate—but also realistically sweet and awkward in turns—and Taylor’s relationships with other female friends and mentors are highlights. She’s organically surrounded by complicated and caring women who are like herself in different ways, guiding her toward her own truth. Most characters default to White; Brooke is Black.
A charmer with hidden depth. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: July 19, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-64567-536-5
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Page Street
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2022
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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