A complex, deliberate examination of grief and recovery.
The eight days surrounding the 2020 U.S. presidential election form the backdrop for one young woman’s journey through grief.
Wilhelmina Hart was supposed to spend the year after high school in Pennsylvania with her beloved aunts, a polyamorous trio she’s summered with forever. Then her aunt Frankie, who “used to make the world shine,” died, and now Covid-19 has her aunts Margaret and Esther crowded into Wilhelmina’s family’s suburban Boston apartment. Wilhelmina, who’s short, fat, and experiences chronic pain, is reduced to running errands and overseeing her younger siblings’ remote schooling. Julie and Bee, her best friends, are in a pandemic pod without her. And “the monster” is poised to win re-election. But Wilhelmina is suddenly having strange experiences, shared, inexplicably, with attractive classmate James Fang, who’s of Italian and Chinese descent. In her customary meticulous prose, Cashore nails the grinding misery of the moment, with masks fogging glasses and tempers flaring. Scenes from summers past are interleaved with the day-by-day narrative, providing backstory. The climax is signaled at the beginning of each chapter, starting with the first: “On the Friday eight days before Wilhelmina stepped into her own, she…” Her own what? readers will wonder as Wilhelmina struggles against enveloping unhappiness. If the answer to what is a bit anticlimactic in its specifics, the emotional work it takes Wilhelmina to get there is honest and true. Aunt Esther is Jewish and Afro-Cuban, Julie is Black, and other major characters are white.
A complex, deliberate examination of grief and recovery. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 11, 2024
ISBN: 9780803739994
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
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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