Sobering and thought-provoking ideas wrapped in an engaging plot.
This chilling satire follows one teenager’s efforts to escape from the reality TV franchise financially supporting her large family.
Chloe’s suicide attempt abruptly ended her family’s 19 Kids and Counting–style reality show. During the following four camera-free years, she changed her name and overcame debilitating panic attacks, successfully concealing her fame. Now a high school senior on the cusp of a new romance, Chloe panics when an invasive new reality show contract exposes her identity. Genuinely terrified of exposing herself and her friends to public criticism and humiliation, Chloe begs for privacy. The convincingly malevolent program producer responds with threats of financial ruin for the entire family, and Chloe’s monstrous mother dismisses the requests as selfish teen rebellion—even implying that Chloe’s suicide attempt ruined the family. In her real life, Chloe longs for her family’s acceptance, but their continual refusal to consider her needs leads to periodic outbursts of frustrated rage—which are then cited as evidence of her instability. Throughout the frustrating cycle of absurdity, Chloe’s unflinchingly raw voice avoids didacticism as she grapples with privacy in the modern age. Discussions of Orwell’s 1984 in her civics class also provide surprisingly natural opportunities for readers to consider how their own media-consumption habits may be contributing to a culture that seems disinclined to value others’ right to privacy.
Sobering and thought-provoking ideas wrapped in an engaging plot. (Fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-8050-9794-8
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2013
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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