Harrowing and intriguing.
Isolated with her abusive, domineering father, 15-year-old Didi learns to survive in a reality where even a simple chess game spells danger.
On the outskirts of town, Didi lives alone with her father. No trace of her long-gone mom remains except for a collection of Nancy Mitford novels. Running drills around the house is an early-morning ritual, often under the harsh command of her father. “Be quick, be fast, be strong!” becomes her mantra. At the age of 5, Didi studies the game of chess, with her father’s intentions clear: to build her skills up to the level of a master or else face the trouble stick. At 8, Didi discovers the brutal truths of hunting in a traumatizing experience that leaves the young girl even more spiritually wounded. “God won’t love me anymore. I exploded a bird.” A brisk and brutal read, Griffin’s latest offers vivid snapshots of a young life held captive by an egotistical tyrant, loaded with suggestions (not always explicit) of physical abuse. The author flits quickly between short chapters, quoted Mitford passages, and other lyrical asides rather ingeniously conveying Didi’s fragile mentality under duress. There’s very little levity here, with the primary source of goodness—a compassionate neighbor who acknowledges Didi’s plight—shuffled off the pages about halfway through. The ending’s at once unsurprising and jarring, tied together with a small measure of hope that feels slightly untrustworthy. A White default is assumed.
Harrowing and intriguing. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5344-8717-8
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2022
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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