A heartbreaking testament to saving oneself.
A Quebecois teen’s dream of attending college means leaving behind the person she loves most.
Everything was different before the accident. Before her mom was injured in a serious car crash, Élise had support, love, and hope for the future. But now her mom is taking too many painkillers and sleeping all the time. Poverty and hunger have become constant battles for Élise, who dreams of going off to college in the city with her best friend, Lily, even though her mom has made it clear she sees this as abandoning her for a new life. Everything becomes even more chaotic when her mother invites abusive drug dealer Richard, whom Élise secretly calls Stranger Danger, into their home. Stranger Danger becomes a persistent threat as Élise tries to extricate herself from the tangled web of lies and betrayal her mother has built around them. Graphic violence and abuse pervade the narrative, allowing readers to experience Élise’s fear as their own. The author’s note provides a necessary warning about the graphic nature of the story, as well as reassuring advice for readers who may be experiencing something similar. This novel provides the vital perspective of a young person who’s watching a loved one struggle with addiction. Élise is a powerhouse of a character who refuses to compromise, even when all odds are stacked against her. Main characters read white.
A heartbreaking testament to saving oneself. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781459417304
Page Count: 112
Publisher: James Lorimer
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2023
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
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
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