Despite being emotionally intense and morally vacuous, there is still a soft-focus lens in this recounting of events in the spring of Lulu’s senior year. In a small Kentucky town, Lulu and Ginny are best friends and regularly make the run via Dead Man’s curve to nearby Huntsville to illegally buy the booze that along with their stash gets them through their days. Lulu’s mother died when she was young and so did Ginny’s brother, creating a bond between them despite their vastly different looks and preferences for poison. Ginny drinks while Lulu prefers smoking, but the petite, dark looks of Lulu and the tall, blonde gorgeousness of Ginny both spell trouble. Lulu’s constant use of the camera to capture pieces of her life balances with her otherwise almost total lack of control. Life is made more complicated as Ginny’s flair for melodrama involves her with a nearby college boy as well as the high-school football star. When brother Danny’s old pal Jay resurfaces to rejoin his band, Lulu is drawn to Jay—his music, motorcycle, and memories of the past. Wanting to show she is no longer a child, leads Lulu into a sexual relationship with Jay. A spot of blood appears but little pain in this poetically romantic portrayal of the loss of virginity. Drink, drugs, and sex seem to be taken for granted throughout. Being “careful” is referred to afterwards, but is not shown. A bland, loving grandmother and stock characters from high school are background for the hot and heavy romance that serves as the main thread. Astute readers will expect consequences, but surprisingly, it is Ginny’s fate with its impact on Lulu that’s at the center of the plot. Henson has a way with thoughts and dialogue that rings true, conveying that longing for experience and adulthood that is so effectively portrayed here. With all the bad behavior, it’s clear these are innocents at play. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: May 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-06-029796-4
Page Count: 240
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2002
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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