An honor winner in the Delacorte Prize for a first YA novel, Zeises tells of a 19-year-old girl’s processing of grief and slow growth away from relationship dependency. When he went away to California, Benji was Bridget’s first and only love. Left behind in Delaware, she’s stunned when Benji is killed in an automobile accident only three weeks after sending her a letter ending their relationship. She’d always known that she was the one who knew that they were a true couple and that Benji didn’t quite see it that way. His family, hers, and their friends are mostly unaware that they had broken up and Bridget sleepwalks through the entire funeral without sharing the secret. The story begins when numbness wears off—about six months later. Close friend Ellie chides Bridget into attending a frat party at nearby University of Delaware. An almost wordless encounter finds Ellie in Jasper’s bed the next morning, and surprisingly in his life despite the inauspicious beginning. Bridget is prickly, difficult, and completely incapable of understanding her own behavior. Her journey toward self-discovery is gradual and believably revealed. Initially, some of the others seem stonily invulnerable to the grief that is eating at Bridget, but in small telling incidents, the pain of others reveals itself as well. Without shifting the focus from Bridget, the author surrounds her with characters that enrich and authenticate her emotional journey. While similar to many angst-filled YA novels that deal with death and relationships, this honors a particular voice and a discovery that much of life must be lived without a significant other by our side. Broodingly honest. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2002
ISBN: 0-385-73001-2
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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