An often solemn but immersive story about finding a new home.
In Pogorzelski’s YA novel, an orphaned teen finds community in a small town.
It’s the mid-1950s, and 17-year-old Janie Emery has just arrived in the town of Montours City by bicycle, homeless and friendless and looking for work. She thought she experienced her “One Terrible Thing” 10 years ago, when her father was killed in World War II, but the subsequent decade brought only more tribulations: the death of her mother, which forced her and her brother, Brayden, to go live at the Anthers Hall orphanage; her move to a new orphanage, separating her from Brayden and from her best friend, the bookish Leo Wesley; and her risky choice to run away from St. Anthony’s and get back to Brayden, hoping to rescue him once she turns 18 in a matter of days. For now, she’s looking for work and a place to sleep. She finds a job with Mr. Calhoun, a kindly local handyman who is helping to rehab the mansion that Henry Mayhew, the scion of a wealthy local family, is turning into a home for sick children. She doesn’t plan to stay long, but she’s soon drawn into the tragedy-scarred lives of those around her, including Henry; his mother, Imogene; and Janie’s new housemate, Callie Webster. As she writes letters to Leo, perhaps she will finally be able to confront past traumas. Pogorzelski’s prose is effectively measured and exact, as when Joanie lies in bed in a boardinghouse: “Someone downstairs was playing the piano—and not very well, it would seem. Janie rolled over in her bed and stared at the beams that ran across the ceiling, listening to tiny hands hit the same three notes again and again and again.” Jane Eyreis mentioned several times, and, indeed, the novel unfolds at a Brontë-an pace that may turn off readers who are used to speedier YA fiction. Even so, Janie will win readers over as the story unfolds. Although the twist at the end is slightly predictable, the general reading experience is enjoyable.
An often solemn but immersive story about finding a new home.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-73797-072-9
Page Count: 244
Publisher: Brown Beagle Books
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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