Charming and informative.
After her relationship with a white boy is discovered, a spirited Chinese American teen tries to evade her father’s marriage ultimatum.
It’s the spring of 1924, and 16-year-old Ruby Chan is in trouble. News of her disastrous fling with Russell Blythe has reached her parents. Her father, who recently became the proprietor of an antiques store, is determined to prevent her from bringing more shame upon her family and their Los Angeles Chinatown community. To Ruby’s horror, Ba requests a San Francisco matchmaker’s services and announces that he’ll also be seeking a husband for Ruby during his upcoming trip to China; one way or another, her future will soon be decided. Unable to accept an arranged marriage and still working through everything that happened with Russell, Ruby takes steps to secure her independence, starting with a job at a department store. She also befriends 19-year-old Anna May Wong, the daughter of a local laundry store owner and a rising Hollywood actor whose daring, often villainous, film roles are dividing the Chinese American community. The story alternates between Ruby’s present and her memories of Russell, weaving together themes of Orientalism, sexism, and the tension between first- and second-generation immigrants’ approaches to assimilation. Despite some awkwardly expositional dialogue, Ruby’s determination and pride in her cultural heritage are easy to root for, and her narrative closes on a satisfying note.
Charming and informative. (content note, note on terminology, author’s note, discussion questions) (Historical fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: March 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781728493213
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
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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