A master of the teen thriller delivers again.
Three estranged friends ditch school and end up involved in a murder.
In sixth grade, Cal O’Shea-Wallace, Ivy Sterling-Shepard, and Mateo Wojcik skipped school, enjoying a day so fabulous that it sealed their friendship for the rest of middle school. Since entering Carlton High, the three have barely spoken to each other—until one particularly rough day during senior year when they run into each other and spontaneously decide to do it again. Overachiever Ivy just lost the student council election, Cal got stood up by his maybe-girlfriend, and Mateo is simply tired from working two jobs to help his family. A drive into Boston is just the thing. The adventure takes a turn for the worse, however, when they accidently find the body of Brian Mahoney, who ran against Ivy for class president and won, and the media targets her as the culprit. But the three former friends are keeping secrets from one another, and what appears to be simply bad luck is actually part of something larger and more dangerous. With its fast-paced, twisty narrative and McManus’ hallmark perspective shifts between the three protagonists, this thriller is both a fun homage to Ferris Bueller’s Day Offand an exploration of how secrets and bad choices can escalate and bring harmful consequences. Most characters are White; Mateo is Puerto Rican and Polish, and Cal has two dads.
A master of the teen thriller delivers again. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 30, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-17586-6
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2021
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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