Readers will welcome this addition to the ace YA canon.
An ace band geek comes into her own in Quinlan’s debut.
High school senior Harper prefers to stay out of the spotlight. The daughter of the leading Republican presidential nominee (dad) and her private boarding school’s conservative dean (mom), she tries to focus on her position as first chair for saxophone in marching band and her best friends, queer Nadia and bisexual, nonbinary Bellamy. She couldn’t be more surprised to learn that her classmate Margot, the Canadian ambassador’s daughter, is being catfished—by someone posing as Harper. As the two strike up a real-life friendship that quickly turns romantic, Harper has to navigate her health (she has asthma exacerbated by anxiety), increasing friendship tensions, her burgeoning realizations that she might be a lesbian and asexual, decisions about privacy and her romantic life, and a family rift. Christian, her older brother who cut off contact with their toxic parents, is gay, an army veteran, and in recovery from addiction. Harper’s first-person narration satisfyingly hits the beats of many queer teen rom-coms, including triumphant growth in self-awareness and a tidy ending. It is immensely refreshing to see an asexual romantic lead whose sexuality isn’t a point of conflict in either her relationship or the broader narrative. Harper and most other characters default to White. Nadia is Indonesian, and Canadian Margot is biracial (implied Black and White).
Readers will welcome this addition to the ace YA canon. (trigger warnings, resources) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: March 8, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-64567-440-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Page Street
Review Posted Online: Nov. 29, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2021
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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