A wild ride with plenty of heart.
Sixteen-year-old Jason Atwood shocked everyone at his Nevada high school by winning the science fair with his highly realistic holograms.
This upset is a precursor to a full-ride scholarship to MIT for Jason, an orphan in the foster care system who’s hardened by trauma and resistant to love. When a strange older man named Roy Calvert approaches him claiming to be his twin brother, Jason can’t believe Roy’s outrageous narrative. But as it turns out, Roy and Jason are remarkably similar. They both feel as if they belong to a universe in which we can learn a lot from the stars. They both understand loneliness and must learn to heal together, so a road trip with Roy is the perfect opportunity for Jason to bond with his brother. The book requires some suspension of disbelief, but it’s a page-turner: As Jason and Roy unravel the shocking mystery of their origins, long-lost letters and documents and a secret code help them piece together the truth. Schur intersperses snippets from the past into the main storyline, expanding on the backstory. Jason’s trauma responses are realistically and empathetically written. Despite a rushed series of events at the end and an explanation that feels like it comes out of nowhere, the book ultimately succeeds in combining science fiction elements with a heartfelt storyline. Major characters read white.
A wild ride with plenty of heart. (Science fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9781958051573
Page Count: 242
Publisher: Snowy Wings Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2024
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
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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