A joyful celebration of identity and community.
An anxious teen comes into her own through the art of drag.
Briar is leaving Texas to spend the summer in New York City with her brother, Beau, aka drag queen Bow Regard. At a show, she meets—and clashes with—Selene, Beau’s infuriatingly attractive but arrogant friend, who performs as drag king Spencer Read. Briar decides to try to beat Spencer in an upcoming competition, and so begins her own drag journey. Along the way, she’ll flirt with Spencer, befriend fellow drag king Achilles, bicker with her brother, and ultimately gain much-needed confidence both on and off the stage. Briar’s mental health journey is at the core of the story, which accurately and unflinchingly depicts her experiences with anxiety and depression. Neither drag nor her flirtation with Spencer is able to magically cure her, but the community she finds in New York leads her to agree to pursue therapy and medication, offering hope for her future. The endearing Briar is realistically drawn, and the supporting characters are all lovable in their own ways, from cosplaying Achilles and sassy but sincere Beau to Briar’s compassionate and down-to-earth mentor, Jacklynn Hyde. A host of queer identities are depicted; Briar is bisexual, and her found family includes a nonbinary person and a trans woman. Main characters present white.
A joyful celebration of identity and community. (author’s note, resources) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 28, 2024
ISBN: 9798890039507
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Page Street
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
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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