A transporting, nostalgic adventure that will entertain teen and adult readers alike.
Three teens embark on a dangerous quest that tests their friendship in this YA novel.
In 1987 in Burghville, New York, Amanda Brooks, Skye Krause, and Marcy Mason are sophomores at Mid Valley High. Each girl deals with a disturbing aspect of her life. Amanda has anxiety; Skye’s veteran father disappeared after a violent episode; and Marcy’s mother has cancer. One day, the girls meet outside for lunch. Marcy explains her fascination with a hiking spot in the wooded mountains of the Hudson Valley that involves a decrepit mansion. Instead of spending Halloween indoors watching It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, they agree to find the mansion of Theodore R. Van Barren Bowls, a scientist who vanished in 1957. Their imaginations blaze with the possibility that his secret laboratory contains a time machine. They also create the cover story of a sleepover for their parents because sneaking onto the state-owned property isn’t legal. After Skye’s cousin Charlemagne drops them off at the trail in her Buick Beast, the girls begin hiking toward a transmission tower near the mansion. From there, they’ll encounter wildlife, hazardous obstacles, and unsavory strangers on a journey that may or may not yield the treasured experience they’re hoping for. Connelly’s adventure brims with realism and nostalgia, creating a heady mix for readers who came of age in an era before social media. The mainstream heyday of heavy metal culture is portrayed in character sketches; student Tony Vito, for example, can’t attend a concert that’s part of the band Slayer’s Reign in Blood tour because he broke his ankle jumping from the school’s bathroom window. The protagonists and the secrets they keep are exceptionally drawn, like Amanda, who has a crush on Mr. West, a teacher (“He’s a dream”); and Skye, who listens to Elton John. The Hudson Valley’s natural beauty is juxtaposed against striking elements like the Manhattan skyline. Brief flash-forwards prove poignant as readers learn just how much this hike meant to the girls as they became women. The author’s skill in conjuring this particular time and place through vibrant characters should leave readers eager for his next novel.
A transporting, nostalgic adventure that will entertain teen and adult readers alike.Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2020
ISBN: 979-8479751011
Page Count: 162
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Aug. 4, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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
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