Sparks fly between Emmy and Jude, but they may not between Emmy and readers
When mousy, pudgy, white Emmy goes to her father’s family in Vancouver for a change of scene, she falls head over heels for Jude, a young white trans man.
Readers first meet 17-year-old Emmy as she kneels to give a loutish classmate a blow job. Far from earning her a boyfriend she can share her poetry with, it garners her friends’ scorn and her mother’s decision to send her away from Winnipeg. In Vancouver, she meets barista Jude, who instantly grabs her attention. Her distance schooling isn’t enough to keep Emmy occupied, and she finds herself drawn back to his coffee shop again and again, even, disastrously, taking part in an open mic night. Emmy’s catastrophically poor self-confidence frequently sends her retreating to her room to “comfort eat,” and she refuses to recognize Jude’s obvious interest in her, a self-pitying characteristic readers may find grating. High points for both Emmy and readers occur when her uncle gives her her deceased father’s youthful notebooks and shows her around the city by bike. Refreshingly, Jude does not function as a coming-of-age device, nor does Emmy ever evince any transphobia, instead educating herself as she crushes ever harder on him. However, this slim novel doesn’t give him much space to emerge as a fully developed character, particularly as so much page count is spent on Emmy’s misery.
Sparks fly between Emmy and Jude, but they may not between Emmy and readers . (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4594-1232-3
Page Count: 176
Publisher: James Lorimer
Review Posted Online: June 18, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
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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