A masterpiece and a delight.
After losing a fight, a Greek American high school junior confronts both anxiety and an old family curse.
Angeleno Leonidas has never been a people person, especially not after the recent death of Yia Yia, his beloved paternal grandmother who came over from Greece to help raise him after his mother died when he was 4. Leo barely talks to his dad, who wants him to be more manly and quit pursuing artistic hobbies like knitting and photography. After his dad enrolls him in an intimidatingly macho self-defense class, Evey, who works at the gym, helps Leo secretly switch to hot yoga. She also pulls him into a plot of her own—and Leo breaks Yia Yia’s cardinal rule that he should steer clear of Evey’s Greek family due to a curse her family put on his. Actually, Evey’s quest for vengeance using Leo’s photography skills dovetails handily with Leo’s wish to feel comfortable in his own skin. Leo’s singular voice keeps pages turning and chuckles coming but also communicates a wealth of insight on topics from mental health stigma to toxic masculinity. Shared in the form of journal entries, the first-person narrative carefully manages readers’ emotions while sharing Leo’s own. The growth of Leo’s unlikely connection with his erstwhile bully illuminates the vulnerable humanity that can bloom when the veil of knee-jerk stereotypes falls away.
A masterpiece and a delight. (author's note) (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Dec. 29, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-399-55092-8
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2021
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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