An appealing, lyrical, and romantic coming-of-age story.
A recent high school graduate navigates love and the music world as she discovers the true story of her deceased mother.
Grams and Nana, her grandmothers, give Mia Peters an old letter from her mom, noted country singer Tori Rose Peters. Tori Rose, who was the pride of their small town of Sunset Cove, Oregon, died when Mia was young. The letter leads Mia on the scavenger hunt her mom set up for her to discover her missing diary pages and learn the truth about the woman behind the music, including the identity of Mia’s father. Although Mia shares her mom’s passion for music, she can’t imagine abandoning her grandmothers like her mother did, even though her best friend, Britt Garcia (who’s sometimes more than a friend), is leaving for Nashville and wants Mia to come along. In narratives that alternate between Mia’s present and Tori’s past, the young women find love and their voices. With song lyrics interspersed between lush, poetic prose, the novel maintains a strong sense of musicality even when the plot sometimes drags. Suspension of disbelief is required for readers to buy into the scavenger hunt, which all works too easily, but for those willing to go along for the ride and embrace the fun and drama of it all, it’s an emotionally satisfying journey of self-discovery filled with romance and friendship. Mia and Tori are white; Britt is Colombian American.
An appealing, lyrical, and romantic coming-of-age story. (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: April 9, 2024
ISBN: 9798212638012
Page Count: 250
Publisher: Blackstone
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
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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