A moving, complex and satisfying import. (Fiction. 14 & up)
Seventeen-year-old goth Maja accidentally cuts off the end of her thumb in class with an electric saw.
It’s horrifying, but like most things in her life, she’s a spectator as well as a participant. A few days later, she goes on her usual scheduled visit to her emotionally distant mother, Jana, but finds no one home—all weekend. Quite by accident, that leads her to stumble in on a neighbor’s party, where she meets Justin. In a gently nuanced translation from its original Swedish, their initial sexual encounter—painful then surprisingly satisfying—is both tender and funny. Finally, as bits of evidence are gradually revealed, Maja learns the truth of her odd, emotionally bruising relationship with Jana: Her mother has just been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. Although that accounts for her mother’s lifelong distance, it’s nearly impossible for Maja to come to grips with it. Sex and alcohol pervade the tale, but it’s Maja’s attempts to understand and cope with her mother that define it. While the Swedish setting, place names and cultural differences add flavor, Maja’s fully authentic first-person voice as she relates her internal struggles will carry readers past any unfamiliarity. The cover art is strangely inappropriate; Maja, with her nearly shaved, dyed black hair and goth clothing looks nothing like the pink-haired girl depicted.
A moving, complex and satisfying import. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: July 15, 2014
ISBN: 978-91-7547-011-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Stockholm Text
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
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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