An unusual, thought-provoking take on advocating for oneself and others.
High school debaters discover that opposites attract.
For Millie Chalmers, winning the Alabama state debate tournament is everything. It guarantees lucrative scholarship opportunities—a boon for Millie and her overworked single mother. She can’t let anything interfere with her college plans: not pervasive sexual harassment and double standards, not dating, and certainly not saying how she really feels. But aspiring chef Tag Strong just wants to speak his mind, dismaying his ambitious parents and private school teammates. After an active shooter scare at a tournament brings Millie and Tag closer, they fall in love despite their opposing personalities. But as the final tournament approaches, mishaps and a vicious harassment campaign against Millie threaten to ruin not only her chances of winning, but the teens’ relationship. In alternating first-person chapters, Millie and Tag reflect on each other, parental expectations, and their debate topics, which—echoing the plot—include gun ownership, income inequality, and speaking out against injustice. Footnotes pepper their narratives with definitions, citations, and snarky asides. Twitter threads and recipes for Tag’s culinary creations add variety and verisimilitude. Though the pacing is occasionally uneven, Millie’s unapologetic battle against sexism is inspiring, and Tag’s reckoning with his privilege is heartening. Weighty issues and the quirky rivals-to-lovers romance are given equal attention. Millie and Tag are White; secondary characters bring some ethnic diversity.
An unusual, thought-provoking take on advocating for oneself and others. (author's note) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-374-30604-5
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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
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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