A poignant reminder that love is not always enough.
Two teens struggling with mental illness fall in love, and it doesn’t end well.
Every day is a challenge for Stella Canavas—likely the same Stella from Yu’s debut novel, Four Weeks, Five People (2017)—who lives with depression. Her resolutions for junior year include hanging out with her best friends, escaping her parents’ arguments, listening to her therapist, and accepting people more. On the first day of classes, Stella is captivated by senior Kevin Miller, who is passionate about philosophy, longs to attend Columbia University, and also lives with depression. Stella feels as though she’s found someone who understands her, and after some serious discussion, they begin dating. Everything seems so perfect, but perfect often turns to tears and recriminations in an instant. As their relationship progresses, Stella’s grades slip, she distances herself from her friends, and she skips therapy sessions. The smallest disagreements between Stella and Kevin escalate to shouting matches that leave Stella feeling too exhausted and broken to pick up the pieces. Stella recounts their relationship in a nonlinear style, beginning her story with the end (their last fight) and scattering memories throughout. Yu genuinely portrays how the initial magic of a new relationship can spiral into something toxic and have a profound impact on one’s mental health. Characters are assumed white except for Stella’s friend Lin, who is Chinese-American.
A poignant reminder that love is not always enough. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 23, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-335-01536-5
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Review Posted Online: July 29, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
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
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
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