A heartwarming story about personal growth.
An Indian American teen sheds her mean girl persona and tries to find herself while chaperoning a pilgrimage.
Tara Bajaj, former co-captain of the Rutgers High Bollywood dance team, becomes a social outcast after reporting the team’s attempt to sabotage a competitor. She accepts her classmates’ bullying as punishment for her behavior but is nonetheless relieved to spend the summer after graduation in India as a junior guide on a Hindu pilgrimage for teens. There isn’t much excitement in it for Tara, who spent her childhood on similar trips with her religious mother, but she figures she can rediscover herself while abroad. Eighteen-year-old Silas D’Souza-Gupta, on the other hand, is enthusiastic about being a junior guide. His mothers met on this exact pilgrimage, and Silas, who was adopted from Goa, plans to re-create their photos for a photojournalism competition. Although Silas’ glowing positivity initially clashes with Tara’s restrained demeanor, the two begin opening up to each other over clandestine McDonald’s meals and trips to outdoor food markets. As they tour temples and hike mountains in North India, Tara and Silas share their fears and hopes with each other and their boisterous group of teens, incorporating issues of socio-economic privilege, queer identity, religious belief, and cultural ownership into thoughtful, sometimes explicitly expository, conversations. The romance between Tara and Silas is sweet and develops alongside their self-understanding; the abrupt ending, while tidy, may leave readers wanting a little more.
A heartwarming story about personal growth. (map, author’s note, content warnings) (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: March 1, 2023
ISBN: 9781662500770
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Skyscape
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
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