An epic tale that ably blends crime, fantasy, and melodrama with memorable, dreamlike turns.
In this hard-hitting YA novel, a tragedy at a Michigan high school rattles students in unexpected ways.
On the first day of her senior year of high school, Rosalind “Rozzy” Howard stands aloneon Hemingway High’s empty football field and dies of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.Many in the community are shocked, including fellow senior Luke Forrester, who’s deaf and decidedly antisocial. After staying home for a week after the tragedy, Luke returns to school with a notepad and a newfound desire to communicate with others via scribbled messages. He befriends teachers and students, including, most notably, Jason Turner, a perpetually angry drug abuser who was in love with “Rozzy.” As the school year progresses, Luke inspires others to do surprising, honorable things; meanwhile, vaguely worded letters that Rozzy left behind precipitate surreal moments. For example, one letter directs Luke and Jason to a small town, where they learn details surrounding a nearly century-old catastrophe that subsequently plagues Jason’s dreams. The teens struggle to make sense of all this, but they find that life can take unpredictable turns. Cleveland’s story is refreshingly simple and deliberately paced, especially considering its epic scope. The alternating first-person narrative voices are relatively few, as well. They include Jason, who delivers the bulk of the profanity; newly pregnant student Abby Browne; and a rather charming, initially unnamed narrator whose storytelling focuses more on others than on himself. They all face familiar but engaging difficulties, as Abby deals with the apathetic father of her unborn child, and Jason, along with his drug-dealing dad, gets mixed up with a frightening crowd. Meanwhile, chapters devoted to Luke’s fantasy story—involving a village that, via a lottery, periodically sacrifices children to a dragon—are effectively interspersed throughout the main story. How or if these two plotlines will connect isn’t immediately clear, and it’s one of several mysteries, like Luke’s “project” for which he receives assistance from Hemingway’s welding teacher.
An epic tale that ably blends crime, fantasy, and melodrama with memorable, dreamlike turns.Pub Date: March 23, 2024
ISBN: 9798990263192
Page Count: 546
Publisher: Night's Bell Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 2, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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