An engaging coming-of-age story.
When their mothers, who were sorority sisters, decide to reunite in South Carolina, four high school girls find themselves spending a summer together.
All four girls are struggling with something: Scarlett is being pressured by her boyfriend to have sex; her twin, softball player Skyler, has arthritis and is unsure how to tell her parents that she wants to change her meds; Amelia Grace was looking forward to being a junior youth minister but after accidentally kissing a girl in front of her congregation feels pressure to hide part of who she is; and Jameelah, who goes by Ellie, is a tennis player who struggles with body image and belonging as a biracial (white/Indian) Muslim girl who passes for white. They all make a pact to “accomplish something impossible before the end of the summer.” By that point they will learn more about themselves and one another and delve deeply into what they each want and what they must do to achieve it. The story alternates between each girl’s first-person viewpoint. Readers learn about each teen’s thoughts, personal ambitions, and fears as well as events from their pasts. Allen’s well-rounded, realistic teen characters grow throughout, and she interlaces the story with complicated relationships that reveal each character’s idea of friendship. Scarlett and Skyler are white and Jewish; Amelia Grace is also white.
An engaging coming-of-age story. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 12, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4112-8
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
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
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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