A vivid but ponderous exploration in verse of late-1960s-California cult life. Mel, broken by her uncaring mother’s sexually abusive boyfriend, “Uncle” Jack, runs away from home with no plans beyond getting to San Francisco. Once there, without food or money, she’s a sitting duck for the charismatic Henry, who promises Mel a new life with his family of “love and openness and / everyone caring,” among whom she can be made whole and free again. Mel’s embrace of family life, with its communal meals and shared sexual partners, is enthusiastic but not wholehearted: She easily recognizes the emotional damage in all of the family members and steers clear of the worst of the bunch. Eventually Mel begins to worry that Henry, who has always seemed “infinite” and healing, is just as shattered as his followers. Like Charles Manson, on whom he is clearly based, Henry was traded by his mother for a pitcher of beer and has pretensions to fame as a prophetic folk star. After an apparent snub by a music industry executive, Mel can tell that “Henry cannot restrain His infinite want. / cannot still the undertow within.” Unfortunately, Mel’s journey is a little too clichéd to be believable—of course her emotional damage is due to sexual abuse—and her voice, full of repetitions of ominous phrases, is too mannered to be engaging. (Historical fiction/verse. 14 & up)
Pub Date: April 26, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-60684-155-6
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Egmont USA
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
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
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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