A high-spirited yet bizarrely safe tale of a risky love.
Cartel violence engulfs two teens caught up in an inexplicable summer romance in Mexico.
A scrappy fighter since childhood, Ryan Hess, a white American, devotes himself to boxing, his time in the ring giving him his only sense of peace. After winning the opportunity to train under the direction of a legendary Mexican boxer, Ryan gladly leaves behind his Texas border town along with his emotionally abusive stepfather, who is a corrupt, power-hungry sheriff. Pushed by her family to become a doctor, Dalila Sandoval, a sheltered, affluent Mexican girl, can’t seem to escape her seemingly predestined path. Meeting at a concert and unable to shake their mutual attraction, the pair, of course, soon give in to their respective desires. But when Dalila’s renowned lawyer father gets involved in a turf war between two rival Mexican cartels, the love-struck teens end up in the middle of the power struggle. In her exploration of adolescent love, Elkeles (Wild Cards, 2013, etc.) blends genuine moments of raw passion with indistinct, broad strands of danger, alternating each chapter between Ryan’s and Dalila’s first-person narration. The flimsy character development features underwhelming attempts at interrogating gender roles. Some stilted Spanish phrases also crop up. Equal parts rushed and endearing, this love story concludes with an implausible showdown, lackluster revelations, and a surprisingly bittersweet coda.
A high-spirited yet bizarrely safe tale of a risky love. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 12, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-264196-0
Page Count: 352
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: April 2, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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