An ultimately heartwarming story about activism and allyship, learning when to speak up and when to listen.
Two girls launch a movement to protest their Florida high school’s dress code.
When 15-year-old Malena shows up at school without a bra, she’s not trying to look sexy or attract attention. On the contrary, Malena just has a painful sunburn and is quietly trying to get by after moving from Puerto Rico, which was recently devastated by Hurricane María. Yet, to Malena’s utter humiliation, an assistant principal scrutinizes her chest, then orders her to cover her nipples by putting panty liners beneath her shirt. While she’s in the bathroom, senior Ruby overhears Malena crying while attaching the panty liners and, after peeking into the stall without permission (behavior that crosses boundaries and is not clearly called out), convinces her not to do it. After noncompliance lands Malena in detention, she’s initially upset that Ruby encouraged her to defy directions. Despite her good intentions, Ruby is later rightfully called out for overstepping in other ways, such as acting like a White savior and needing to be a better listener. Told through Ruby’s and Malena’s alternating first-person viewpoints, the plot unfolds thoughtfully after Ruby and Malena team up to challenge the dress code. The book includes important discussions about how race and body type impact the way clothes are perceived as well as about sexual assault and the wrongful shaming of victims.
An ultimately heartwarming story about activism and allyship, learning when to speak up and when to listen. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: April 5, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-42585-5
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Jan. 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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
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