A vibrant coming-of-age novel.
In Waite’s YA novel, a teen embarks on a chaotic search for a piano teacher.
In 1970s Massachusetts, 16-year-old Jezebel Berke wants out of her family. Her older sister, fresh out of high school, will be gone for the summer. Her mother is a drinker prone to mood swings, and her quick-tempered father recently did something to make Jez incredibly uncomfortable. The family will be at their beach house on the South Shore for the summer, but Jez hopes to sneak back to Boston to hang out in music clubs, do drugs, and hopefully find someone to teach her to play jazz piano. As the summer progresses, Jez begins collecting an assortment of characters to help her on her quest: Quinn, a handsome harmonica player who introduces her to his circle of Berklee musicians; John, a philosophical Harvard student who chats with her about morality; and Arjuna, a Hare Krishna who calls her a seeker of truth. She also has her socialist grandmother, Bubbie, to provide unconditional love. However, Jez’s truth-seeking leads her into progressively more dangerous situations, and if she survives the summer, she will eventually have to confront the family problems that are gnawing at her. The author imbues Jezebel (whose unusual name comes from her mother’s revisionist understanding of the biblical queen as a defender of the downtrodden) with plenty of angst and attitude. She skillfully evokes a nostalgia-tinged 1970s New England summer (even if some of the signifiers feel a bit on the nose): “Back in her Mom’s caddy, we sang along with Bob Dylan on the radio…Boston was summertime hopping and we drove past people hanging on their stoops with music blasting from boom boxes. On a busy corner a group of women faced the street and held signs that said, ‘Our right to decide’ and ‘Impeach Nixon!’ ” It’s a compelling mixture of messiness, sincerity, and irreverence, capturing someone halfway between what they’ve always been and what they want to become.
A vibrant coming-of-age novel.Pub Date: July 1, 2023
ISBN: 9798218191900
Page Count: 217
Publisher: Manuscript
Review Posted Online: June 5, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
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
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