An enjoyable story of family, friends, and failed first love.
Financial fortune isn’t always fun.
Seventeen-year-old Fortuna Jane Belleweather just won the lottery: specifically, a $58 million jackpot. Bewildered would be an understatement. Her mother’s been playing the lotto religiously for five years—one of the many habits she picked up in her grief over losing Jane’s dad. Jane just purchased a ticket on a whim. Two weeks shy of turning 18, she’ll need to convince a trusted adult to claim the winnings or be guilty of a criminal misdemeanor. Her hoarder mother is not an option; neither is her nonmaterialistic hippie grandma. Unfortunately, Brandon Kim, her best friend, is also 17—and he’s determined to figure out who the lucky winner in their small Wisconsin town is. Could her jerk of an ex-boyfriend be the answer? Not if she can avoid it. Excerpts from Jane’s journal, The Big Book of Lotto Winner Fails, document unlucky winners’ experiences and offer insights into her inner thoughts. Media clips and social media posts, like the Lakesboro Community Facebook group and Bran’s Instagram, show the growing buzz and obsession in town. Pacton captures her protagonist’s anxiety and the deliberation with which she approaches her dilemma. A fast last act ties up the various threads but leaves some emotional arcs underexplored. But readers will find in Bran and Jane’s dynamics a welcomingly strong, supportive friendship. Jane is White and bisexual; most characters are White, and Bran is Korean American.
An enjoyable story of family, friends, and failed first love. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-64567-208-1
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Page Street
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2021
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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