Haunting. Mesmerizing. Completely unforgettable.
In 1987, Muscovites Grigor and Nika Osinov vanished amid whispers of sorcery.
Over the summer, 17-year-old aspiring journalist Adrienne Cahill is accompanying her stepfather, Dan, an anthropologist, to Siberia to search for the mysterious couple, rumored to now have several children. Unlike Dan, whose belief in the Osinovs borders on religious fervor, hardcore skeptic Adrienne is certain they’re just a legend—and an article disproving their existence is sure to earn her a college scholarship. However, in the middle of the trip, devastating and shocking events turn Adrienne into a believer. After she’s captured by the Osinovs, she promises herself she will make it back home, and she sets her escape plan in motion: Make the younger Osinov brother, Vanya, fall in love with her and take her back to civilization. Over time, the pair bond, and Adrienne inevitably falls in love with him. She also falls in love with the rest of the family: tough-as-nails matriarch, Nika; Vanya’s sweet-tempered sister, Clara; and brooding elder brother, Marat. Can Adrienne convince them to let her go? Does Adrienne’s rescue necessarily mean the Osinovs’ discovery? Is there truth to the stories about their mystical powers? Elements of magical realism give the story a dreamlike quality, while Adrienne’s wickedly sarcastic sense of humor keeps the story grounded in reality. Whiteness is assumed.
Haunting. Mesmerizing. Completely unforgettable. (Fiction. 13-adult)Pub Date: July 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-239400-2
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 9, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
PROFILES
PERSPECTIVES
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
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