As satisfying as watching a reality show but with a finer-tuned plot.
More mean-girl high jinks in the Hamptons in this follow-up to Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend (2014).
In the first book, 16-year-old Gemma had returned to the Hamptons to stay with her father at his rich producer friend's house and make amends to her childhood friend Hallie, whom Gemma wronged when she was 11. Plans went terribly awry: Vengeful Hallie stole Gemma's boyfriend, Teddy, and then Gemma fell for Hallie's brother, Josh—but then Hallie broke them up, making Gemma out to be the bad guy. Now Gemma has decided to stay the summer to prove her innocence and Hallie's guilt to Teddy and Josh. Two new teens arrive, Gwyneth and Ford. Gemma's known them for years and has a longtime crush on Ford, who is a surfing hottie as well as a supersmart computer programmer. Gwyneth is making a documentary, so she insists that everyone in the house wear miniature cameras around their necks. The revenge plans are ratcheted up here with elaborate, multistage setups (involving the cameras, of course) that, though defying believability, are a plot complexity to behold. Readers will find Gemma's lack of romantic decisiveness frustrating; she swoons over whomever she’s with. Ultimately, it's tough to stand firmly behind Gemma; though she doesn't harbor the poison that Hallie does, she's like a reality star bemoaning her fate: The fact is that she signed up for it.
As satisfying as watching a reality show but with a finer-tuned plot. (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: May 5, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-04525-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2015
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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