This thriller grounded in very real problems doesn’t disappoint.
Mara Racette thought her biggest problem was not fitting in—and then one of her classmates went missing and another one was murdered.
“If you want to get away with murder, do it on an Indian reservation.” After trouble at her old school, Mara finds herself on her father’s Blackfeet tribal land in Browning, Montana. She tries to remain under the radar, but that becomes impossible when she and three classmates, Brody Clark, Loren Arnoux, and Eli First Kill, discover the body of a murdered teenage girl during the annual Indian Days celebration. The victim, Samantha White Tail, is connected to all four of them, and they now find themselves suspects. This debut from Cobell, an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Nation, alternates between each of the leads’ perspectives, casting enough suspicion on each major player to keep armchair sleuths guessing. Transcripts from a true-crime podcast are interspersed, along with segments from “Unknown,” a mysterious, anonymous voice whose interludes add to the suspense. Throughout, the author is reverent in small and distinct ways toward Blackfeet tribal customs and craft, which contributes to building a rich setting. The novel skillfully raises awareness of the tragedy of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women while offering up an unflinching thriller that’s full of clever misdirection.
This thriller grounded in very real problems doesn’t disappoint. (author’s note, note from Cynthia Leitich Smith) (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: June 4, 2024
ISBN: 9780063318670
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Heartdrum
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
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
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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