Entertaining and insightful for young dancers. (Fiction. 12-18)
Lila wants to become a professional belly dancer but learns that she might have chosen a more difficult road than she expected.
Lila, along with everyone who knows her, is sure she was born to dance. She thoroughly enjoys the belly-dancing classes she takes from Amala and has a wonderful time dancing with her friends as they prepare to perform in an upcoming festival. When Amala gives her a chance to join Dana’s studio instead, however, Lila leaps at the opportunity. Dana is a renowned professional, and many of her students go on to similar success. Dana works Lila so hard, however, that she becomes stressed. Although she knows she’s learning a great deal, she isn’t having fun. Plus, she misses her best friend, Angela, who still dances with Amala, and has trouble keeping up with her schoolwork. More stress comes when Lila learns that Dana will be cutting two dancers before their appearance at the festival. Lila realizes that she may have to choose between becoming a professional and dancing with her friends for fun. Jones writes this novella in a simple, highly readable style. The author’s descriptions of the dances are some of the most interesting segments of the story. If the characterizations come across as a bit flat by contrast, nevertheless young readers will be focusing on the choices that Lila faces.
Entertaining and insightful for young dancers. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4598-0764-8
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015
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
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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