Just like the protagonist’s virtual foil, this should have wide appeal to the Gen-Z crowd.
A lonely high school student finds solace through social media.
At the school year’s start, introverted white sophomore Vicky Decker finds herself struggling to manage what her mother calls her “absurd shyness” and “self-consciousness” because her sole confidante has moved away. Beyond shy and convinced she’s socially inept, Vicky is nearly agoraphobic, so afraid of calling attention to herself and being laughed at that she routinely retreats to the privacy of a bathroom stall to eat her lunch. When an unfortunate butt-dial sparks radio silence between besties, leaving Vicky utterly friendless, Vicky employs her savvy with digital media to craft the persona of the confident, socially adventurous person she’d like to be. Dressing her virtual alter ego in a wild wig and zany outfits that mask her identity, Vicky Photoshops pictures of herself into various public settings and posts these images on her new Instagram page—“Vicurious”—with the all-important “#alone.” Vicky soon learns she is anything but, and, as her page starts to draw legions of followers, Vicurious begins to reach out to comfort those who feel similarly “invisible and ignored.” In this engagingly plot-driven crusade of kindness, Roat turns the voyeuristic isolation of social media on its ear to launch a community-building campaign that accommodates her message of kindness and acceptance without being corny.
Just like the protagonist’s virtual foil, this should have wide appeal to the Gen-Z crowd. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-229175-2
Page Count: 384
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: June 4, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
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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