A thoughtful exploration of love and identity.
Through making a podcast, a Memphis teen ponders the point of love while examining her own and her parents’ relationships.
High school has ended, and Vincent, 18-year-old Lee Swan’s boyfriend of the past two years, has just broken up with her. She tries to play it maturely while they make a final episode of their podcast, Artists in Love, but between their breakup and her parents’ fresh separation, Lee is a mess. When she discovers evidence that leads her to question the beginning of her parents’ relationship, Lee starts to work on a new podcast as she uncovers the truth. She’s assisted by her friends Max and Risa, both queer, and through them, Lee begins to open up about her own bisexuality. As she grapples with how to live authentically, she embraces a more expansive view of romance and relationships. In addition to navigating sexuality, this character-driven story also provides insight into how race and gender shape how one moves through the world. It showcases the different lived experiences of realistic side characters, including biracial (Black/White) Vincent, Filipino Max, and Max’s nonbinary parent. These characters are juxtaposed with Lee, a White woman who often reads as straight. The characters are enriched by their passions: The book is populated with artists of varying types, and Lee loves being a sound engineer. Additionally, the Memphis setting is vividly portrayed, including all its lovely weirdness and challenges.
A thoughtful exploration of love and identity. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 15, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-8505-1
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
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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