An engaging take on the pursuit of creative fulfillment.
A college reject pursues an acting career in Los Angeles.
After failing to get into college, Becca Harrington gives herself a year to live in Los Angeles and pursue her passion for acting. With little money in the bank and her mother hounding her to form a backup plan, the white 18-year-old tries her best to land an agent and get over her ex-boyfriend, who dumped her before heading off to Stanford. Raj Singh, the cute, Indian-American college-student filmmaker who lives in her building, may be able to help her on both counts. The author perfectly captures the feeling of fledgling independence, with nothing but wits, hopes, and a few hundred dollars in the bank. The narrative is well-built, charting Becca’s ups and downs in the entertainment industry and in her social life. Supporting the episodic narrative are some winning characters, primarily Becca, whose motivations are rooted not in the desire for stardom but in the need for artistic expression. Her ambition and ability to get out of her own way make for an engaging protagonist, and her command over her own sexual wants and needs is refreshing in a sea of demure female protagonists. The novel’s tone strays from the usual “dreams do come true” trappings and maintains an honest, grounded depiction of a young person’s first steps into the real world.
An engaging take on the pursuit of creative fulfillment. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: July 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4847-2545-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
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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