A compassionate story for reluctant readers.
Sydney is used to being at the top of the food chain as the big bully at her school on the White Earth Ojibwa Reservation.
However, after her parents’ divorce she moves with her mother to Minneapolis, where she finds out what it’s like to be on the other side. As one of the few Native kids in her new school, she is bullied by many peers. Trying to fit in, Sydney cuts her waist-length hair and avoids wearing anything that might indicate she is Native, but she continues to be ostracized and isolated. Eventually Sydney finds a kindred spirit in Finn, a boy who’s persecuted for being gay. As the story progresses, readers understand how the two friends are treated as outcasts just for being themselves and see how they learn from one another. Watching her new friend being tormented helps Sydney view her past actions in a new light and decide how she wants to behave going forward. The story also highlights the impacts of harsh behavior at home, as Finn’s mother thinks that being gay is a choice—one she disagrees with—while Sydney’s father makes her feel mediocre no matter how hard she tries, which is another piece of her journey to finding her voice. Sigafus (Ojibwa) has written a brief and accessible novel that will engage readers and help them understand that we all make mistakes but what truly matters is whether we can learn from them.
A compassionate story for reluctant readers. (resources) (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: March 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-939053-38-1
Page Count: 118
Publisher: 7th Generation
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 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
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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