A sweet love story of self-discovery and mutual support.
Vietnamese American college students navigate pressures, expectations, and the future in this companion to A Phở Love Story (2021).
Entering the University of California, Davis, is a big adjustment for Việt. Between worrying about not being around to act as middleman in his parents’ rocky relationship and feeling unmoored in this new setting, he falls into depression again. After an initial not-so meet-cute, Việt keeps finding himself in the orbit of third-year student Evie, older sister to Linh, a friend from home. Their genuine connection leads to budding feelings that he tries to keep in check. Aspiring pediatrician Evie has a boyfriend, Jake, but she wonders whether he’s truly meeting her emotional needs. Le tackles college coming-of-age beats—dating and breaking up, attending sloppy parties, meeting a new roommate, finding chosen family—portraying them with welcome cultural nuance and heartfelt characterization. Evie and Việt struggle with loneliness and guilt connected to their family obligations, as they grapple with putting some of their own desires first and figuring out who they want to become. It’s easy to root for this pair as they come out of their shells and into their own, separately and together. Le explores topics such as mental health, wealth and privilege, and providing emotional support to others. The story’s slice-of-life format and the carefully built foundation of the leads’ friendship make for a leisurely pace in this solid slow-burn friends-to-lovers romance.
A sweet love story of self-discovery and mutual support. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: March 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781665917155
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2025
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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