Engaging stories that fill a need for reluctant readers seeking positive, inspiring stories of same-sex relationships.
A suburban Vancouver teen wants to make her mark online.
After her cover of a Rihanna song goes viral following the lackluster performance of her beauty tutorials, queer, biracial (Danish/Asian Indian) Char Gill decides that devoting herself to her guitar and vocals will help jump-start her social media presence, even if it means abandoning other pursuits like the LGBTQ+ club at school. However, her school’s pack of mean girls targets Char’s social media and begins to troll her. Char discovers an app, SendLove, created to combat online bullying by drowning out hateful comments in a crowd of positive ones. Using the handle “Charming,” she strikes up an online relationship with the SendLove moderator, “Cinders.” Connecting through video conversations before meeting face to face, their relationship quickly becomes romantic. As Char becomes more involved with SendLove and Cinders, she takes stock of her life and does a self-designed internet detox. A companion novel, Cinders, details events from Ash’s (aka Cinders’) point of view. Ash is a presumably white teenager living with her stepfather and stepsiblings after her mother’s death. A talented coder, she invented SendLove as an entry for a badly needed college scholarship. The books address homophobia and heteronormativity, dysfunctional families, bullying—both face-to-face and cyber—and the pitfalls of social media with realism and care. The girls’ sweet romance helps each of them grow in confidence and learn to take emotional risks.
Engaging stories that fill a need for reluctant readers seeking positive, inspiring stories of same-sex relationships. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4594-1387-0
Page Count: 178
Publisher: James Lorimer
Review Posted Online: Dec. 11, 2018
A magical story with a classic Disney feel exploring love, friendship, and leading amid hardship.
Shortly before the new queen’s coronation, a monster wreaks havoc, forcing a young fairy princess to intervene at her own risk.
In Pixie Hollow, the Never Fairies of Spring, Summer, and Autumn work to create seasons for the humans on the Mainland, while the fairies of Winter remain apart in the Winter Woods. Clarion, a governing-talent fairy who’s soon to take over as queen of Pixie Hollow, often looks wonderingly at the Winter Woods. But crossing the border is against the rules set forth by her mentor, Queen Elvina. When a monster from Winter breaks free and enters Spring, Clarion bristles at Elvina’s dismissal. Determined to be involved, she secretly travels to Winter, meets with Milori, the Warden of the Winter Woods, and learns that the land is nothing like what she’s heard, making her wonder what else the queen has been untruthful about. Together Milori and Clarion work to discover the secrets of Pixie Hollow, which may save them—or lead to death. Set in a magical place of flowers and pixie dust, this story considers the control we have over the roles we’re assigned. Clarion is a beautifully complex character—strong yet insecure, lovable due to her willingness to prioritize relationships over rules. Themes of fear, forbidden love, and good vs. evil are present in this fast-paced, engaging tale. Main characters are cued white.
A magical story with a classic Disney feel exploring love, friendship, and leading amid hardship. (Fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781368098458
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Disney Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 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
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