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MY SUMMER OF LOVE AND MISFORTUNE

Like spun sugar—glitzy, sweet, and airy.

A series of poor life choices earns high school senior Iris Wang a one-way ticket to China.

As a flower-hearted girl born in the Year of the Tiger, Chinese American Iris was destined from birth to be unlucky. She prefers to live in a rose-tinted bubble, determinedly ignoring the consequences of her reckless decisions until things spiral out of control. When she fails her final year of high school and is rejected by all of the colleges she applied to, her parents send her to live with her estranged Uncle Dai and his family in Beijing in order for her to reflect on her mistakes. Iris’ initial terror, followed by delight at discovering that her uncle is a construction tycoon, fades when Uncle Dai insists that she not only work on improving her academic and Mandarin language skills, but also help her haughty cousin, Ruby, learn English. Though well-meaning, Iris is impulsive and careless, especially when it comes to spending money. Her bubbly first-person narration, rife with similes and brand names, occasionally veers from humorous to immature. The importance of family bonds is a theme that runs throughout, but it is overwhelmed by the force of Iris’ effusive and self-absorbed personality in this novel that reads like Confessions of a Shopaholic meets Crazy Rich Asians.

Like spun sugar—glitzy, sweet, and airy. (Fiction. 14-18)

Pub Date: May 5, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-5344-4334-1

Page Count: 384

Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: Feb. 4, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020

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INDIVISIBLE

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

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IF HE HAD BEEN WITH ME

There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.

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  • New York Times Bestseller

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

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