An entertaining, if lightweight exploration of high school social hierarchies.
The Art of War meets Mean Girls.
Olivia Chang knows how to navigate a new high school. Her mother is in the military, and they’re constantly moving, so she’s comfortable being known as The New Girl. Olivia knows exactly how to be invisible and avoid attention from the popular crowd. But in her junior year in Plainstown, Ohio, in what she hopes will be her last new school, she finds herself violating her own rules and bantering with a guy from French class—and landing right in the crosshairs of No. 1 popular girl Mitzi Clarke. Events take a turn for the unexpected as Olivia learns of (and eventually helps lead) a movement to topple the school’s social power structure. The story’s blend of romance, action, humor, and social issues comes together with mixed success. Olivia’s invocation of her Taiwanese immigrant grandfather’s experiences as she faces anti-Asian racism is heartfelt and effective (the school seems to be predominantly White). The neat pairing off of central characters feels convenient to the plot, but the romances are endearing. While there are allusions to more serious incidents, the novel largely avoids showing the deeper impacts of bullying, making its tackling of tough topics feel inconsistent in tone. Still, the narrative’s quick pace and creative turns should keep readers’ interest all the way to the thoughtful ending.
An entertaining, if lightweight exploration of high school social hierarchies. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: July 4, 2023
ISBN: 9780063237834
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2023
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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