A sweet story of soccer and summer romance with a lovable protagonist.
A rising senior faces pressures and pleasures.
Soccer star Zack Martin’s last year at Citrus Harbor High is set to be fantastic. Coming off a state win, Zack’s the presumed captain for next year: Helping his team attain victory at the upcoming July 4 charity match will boost his chances of getting his teammates’ votes. But then outgoing captain Ryan, afraid of losing his college scholarship after a prank he pulls goes wrong, convinces Zack to take responsibility for it. Zack maneuvers his mandated community service hours into a position at the Marine Institute where he can be closer to Cute Guy—aka Chip, Ryan’s environmentalist cousin who doesn’t share Zack’s admiration for Ryan. Zack develops feelings for Chip, but he must reckon with his place on the team and who he really wants to be. Weber’s characters pop off the page in their sunny Florida setting as they deal with a variety of adolescent stressors. Zack and Chip’s slow-burn relationship and the easygoing acceptance of their sexuality by their peers are delightful. Zack’s emotional turmoil over competing concerns is realistic as he deals with his teammates, his budding relationship with Chip, his divorced parents’ expectations, and more. Main characters read White.
A sweet story of soccer and summer romance with a lovable protagonist. (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9781335453648
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
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
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
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