She leaves readers with an ambiguous ending, sure to keep them thinking.
In this well-realized dystopia, a virus has rendered nearly everyone in the world unable to have children after age 18.
As a result, teen pregnancies become the only way to continue civilization. Alternating chapters follow two identical twins, Melody and Harmony, who meet for the first time just as Melody is about to begin fulfilling her lucrative contract to “bump” and produce a baby for a wealthy couple. Harmony has left her conservative religious enclave in an attempt to convince Melody to embrace God instead. Everything goes awry when Harmony intercepts the pregnancy agent’s wonderful news: Melody will be “bumping” with the most famous and desirable surrogate father alive. As the story progresses, however, each twin faces serious doubts about her original plans. McCafferty invents teen slang that rings true, such as “a pregg” (baby), “facespace” and “until our parents’ generation finally takes a dirtnap.” The author keeps her characters lively, giving them distinct personalities, and she clearly takes sides in judging her imagined future society. Despite the futuristic setting, the main focus of the book is a cautionary tale about teen pregnancy and casual, loveless sex. McCafferty includes abundant sexual references, mostly from the enthusiastic high-school girls who compete over their “preggs” and “bumps.”
She leaves readers with an ambiguous ending, sure to keep them thinking. (Science fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 26, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-196274-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2011
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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