A hopeful, realistic exploration of mental health among teens invested in the world of the arts.
The highs and lows of ballet—and of growing up.
Sixteen-year-old Aisha Bimi has worked hard to be one of the best dancers in her ballet-focused boarding school, but she is continually reminded that, in many people’s eyes, she doesn’t look the part. Aisha is Ghanaian Canadian, and there are few Black people in the world of ballet. After she fails to receive an apprenticeship with the Western Canadian Ballet, Aisha makes the split-second decision to return home to Toronto. There, she toys with the idea of enrolling in an arts high school with her best friend, Neil. She can see that Neil, who is of Korean descent, has an alcohol problem, and she is determined to help, enlisting the aid of Algerian Canadian Ollie, one of Neil’s quiet yet compelling school friends. Can Aisha balance her relationships old and new, her mental health, and ballet, or is it all too much? Aisha’s feelings about dance consistently ring true, from the isolation of having few role models or friends who look like her to her love of classical technique and her hunger for something new. Her struggles with body image are especially authentic. Aisha and her friends face real problems and are not without their stumbles and missteps, but they also work to support each other in finding healing and healthy ways to move forward.
A hopeful, realistic exploration of mental health among teens invested in the world of the arts. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 6, 2023
ISBN: 9781773217819
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Annick Press
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023
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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