An engaging and perceptive story of love, grief, and personal awakening.
Although Noreen Mirza is graduating high school, the one-year death anniversary of her beloved aunt Sonia Khala dominates her thoughts.
When she learns that her mother will be spending a few months in New Delhi for work, Noreen, a Pakistani American Muslim who aspires to become a screenwriter, defers her college entrance to travel with her to the city that Sonia Khala had dreamed of visiting. In India, Noreen spends time with Kabir, a thoughtful, attractive young filmmaker who takes her to visit ancient Mughal ruins and historic religious sites and is sensitive to her grief. When Kabir’s world is rocked by allegations of his writer father’s sexual misconduct, Noreen supports him even as she confronts her own troubled relationship with her estranged father. She struggles to understand the impact that relationship, along with her fear of further loss, has had on her ability to open herself up to love. Filled with beautiful imagery, sensory language, clever structuring, and humor, this is a romantic coming-of-age story. The author also explores South Asian politics, culture, and history, touching on issues such as Islamophobia, racism, and violence toward women in a complicated country during the #MeToo era. Glimpses of poverty, classism, and the struggles of people living in poverty contrast with the privilege and wealth of Noreen, Kabir, and their elite circle.
An engaging and perceptive story of love, grief, and personal awakening. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-284548-1
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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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