Readers who find “dumbslut” endearing will likely enjoy the crazed teenager angst, but the rest may find themselves...
Over the course of two days in a desert California town, a high school graduation celebration challenges friendships and introduces post-graduation realities.
Victoria “Vic” Navarro (white, Filipino, and generic “Native American”) is throwing one final fete for her graduating class at Happies, the legendary local restaurant that has popularized Rancho Soldado but is now closing. With her two best friends, Genesis “Fletch” Fletcher (adopted from “Africa” by an interracial couple) and Mercedes “Slick” Zavala-Kim (mixed-race, Mexican/Korean), Vic has secured permission from Happies’ owner to orchestrate a final hurrah, distracted Rancho Soldado’s most villainous teacher Annette Thrope (called “Miss Ann Thrope” by her students), and landed her crush’s assistance for the night. In Vic’s account, alcohol flows, music plays, and pot brownies are consumed, while lustful teenagers tuck themselves in all corners of the property. After a large band of geriatric Happies fanatics crashes the festivities, the growing crowd morphs from a discreet rager into a grander, final tribute. Girls repeatedly refer to themselves as dumbsluts or bitches, and somehow these teens are well-versed in dated pop-culture references. In Cohn fashion, characters strike varying chords of teen attitude from idealistic to cynical, naïve to sophisticated. The diversity is pleasing to see, but it is skin deep—there is no plumbing of cultural nuance.
Readers who find “dumbslut” endearing will likely enjoy the crazed teenager angst, but the rest may find themselves wondering why they should care about these hormone-charged characters. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 2, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4231-5722-9
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2017
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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