Readers will either see themselves in Devon and his story or will reconsider their own roles in their schools’ social...
A Maori teen’s brutal experiences at boarding school provide an object lesson in how systems of power perpetuate themselves.
Te Arepa Santos is a rural boy, keen on hunting eels in a nearby river and fascinated by his grandfather Ra’s tales of how their intrepid ancestor Diego Santos assimilated into their tribe and saved them from annihilation by a rival tribe. When he wins a merit scholarship to prestigious Barwell’s Collegiate in Auckland, Te Arepa discovers that he is the only Maori student enrolled. He faces class snobbery and racism from every quarter and finds himself trying to erase his ethnic identity in his attempts to adjust to Barwell’s unyieldingly patrician, casually violent culture. Taking the nickname Devon, in tribute to the ship that brought Diego to New Zealand from Spain, is the first of many self-effacing tactical decisions he makes that eventually cost him dearly. Every relationship is transactional and every experience, a competition for a better position in the school’s hierarchy. This award-winning book has also been the object of censorship attempts in New Zealand due to its frank, often grim representations of violence, drug use, and fumbling teen sex. Though the prose is often plodding and the plotting littered with heavy exposition, Te Arepa/Devon is a deeply compelling character. The frequent Maori references are defined in footnotes.
Readers will either see themselves in Devon and his story or will reconsider their own roles in their schools’ social structures. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 14, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-943818-19-8
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Polis Books
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016
PROFILES
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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