Still, readers interested in physics or drawn to character-driven stories may find something here to like, even though Tommy...
When a high school boy obsessed with quantum physics suddenly disappears, friends and neighbors reveal details of their lives as they speculate on his whereabouts.
When Tommy Smythe’s abandoned motorbike is found by the side of the road in a clearing known as the Stillwell pullout, the local sheriff begins his investigation by questioning residents of the small Texas town. The first-person interviews are interspersed with third-person stories of others who had nominally come into contact with Tommy or the pullout, as well as excerpts from Tommy’s journal, in which he wrote his musings about parallel universes. Tommy’s disappearance serves as an unsubtle metaphor for the alienation and frustration found in the lives of the people around him, who also sometimes wish they could vanish or escape to another dimension. Among these are Kimmie Jo, who is tired of not having her Mexican heritage recognized; Alvin, who wants to break free from his abusive father; Jake, who doesn’t know if he’s brave enough to leave the family farm for college; and Tara, who is trying to forgive her dead father for the secret double life that led to his murder. While the novel’s concept and structure are thought-provoking, the prose is often repetitive and mundane.
Still, readers interested in physics or drawn to character-driven stories may find something here to like, even though Tommy and his fate remain ciphers. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-374-30060-9
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: June 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2014
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
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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