An uneven but moving journey of self-acceptance.
Queer teens navigate their relationships to family, each other, and themselves.
Malaysian American Azar Sharif, a Muslim girl from Brooklyn, just moved to Ashford, Vermont, for her mother’s job. Her father has stayed behind to sell their apartment. Through proximity, she becomes friends with Tristan Wathe, who’s white and nonbinary and the child of Azar’s family’s landlord. Tristan shows Azar how to get around town and becomes someone she can talk to about the secret she’s keeping from her mother—her own queer identity. The two teens bond over difficult situations with their respective parents. When Azar ends up hospitalized following a serious accident and has a big fight with her mother, she goes upstairs to stay with Tristan and their dad, Shannon, a science fiction author. There, despite Tristan’s dad’s issues, she finds connection and acceptance. Throughout, Azar reads Shannon’s epic novel; text excerpts from it are differentiated from the dialogue by a different font and interspersed between scenes. These interludes can be jarring because the passages from the novel don’t directly connect to Azar’s story arc and the small snippets don’t give a full enough sense of why Azar loves the work. The illustrations are clear and focused on the characters’ faces and emotions. The muted color palette used throughout emphasizes the pervasive feelings of loneliness.
An uneven but moving journey of self-acceptance. (Graphic fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: April 29, 2025
ISBN: 9781603095525
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Top Shelf Productions
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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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