An evocative, charming tale of two types of families, the one you are born into and the one you choose.
Arsalan Nizami is looking for love.
Seventeen-year-old Arsalan has a lot to consider: Apart from contemplating an arranged marriage, he’s integrating into a public high school after being home-schooled and is suddenly meeting peers who use 21st-century references in their conversations, a big change from his etymology-obsessed great-grandfather Nana’s passion for Old English. The Sacramento teen is also looking for a rishta aunty, hoping a matchmaker can secure his future before his 100-year-old Nana passes away. Having lost his mother in a car accident two years ago, and not being on good terms with his abusive, alcoholic, absentee father, Arsalan is alone with Nana as his only real family. Enter Beenish “Beans” Siraj, his free spirit of a classmate who is also Muslim and Pakistani American. Beans has a proposal for Arsalan. If he helps her out by being her dance partner, part of a special plan she has to disrupt her sister’s wedding, she will set him up with dates in exchange. Masood has crafted each of his characters with care, using them to explore topics such as grief, domestic violence, divorce, addiction, and religious differences. Despite the seriousness of these subjects, Arsalan’s hapless, earnest, and socially naïve narration adds humor and lightness to this story of finding your place in the world despite feeling like a misfit.
An evocative, charming tale of two types of families, the one you are born into and the one you choose. (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Nov. 9, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-316-49241-6
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
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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