A smart, swoony, and witty romance.
Two teens meet at an arts camp in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and form a lasting bond.
Florence, a dancer with nystagmus, an eye condition that affects her depth perception, is working through her grief that she may not be able to continue dancing when she meets Jude, a photographer. The closing tradition at Harbor Arts Camp is called Sunrise Night, an evening in which the teens are permitted to leave the camp to hang out in the surrounding town—all night if they wish (with check-ins). Jude is honest right away about having a girlfriend, but as the two move from one eccentric small-town venue to another, they realize they’re undeniably attracted to one another. They vow to meet up again at Harbor Arts the following summer but in the meantime to return home to Wisconsin (Florence) and Tennessee (Jude) and avoid all communication: “Total silence for a year.” In alternating entries comprising both verse and short prose passages from each of their perspectives, Florence and Jude’s story is told as a sort of comedy of errors taking place on three Sunrise Nights over three successive years. This protracted, slow-burn romance works thanks to their frenetic, philosophical, wildly funny, and poignant voices, which will hook readers from the start, even if the verse sections may strike some as a little too earnest at times. Florence and Jude are cued white.
A smart, swoony, and witty romance. (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: July 9, 2024
ISBN: 9780063324534
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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