An empowering coming-of-age story with genuine character growth.
Sixteen-year-old Soma Kear finds her voice after her father is deported back to Cambodia.
“She’s got those yellow-brown blues / Those Jungle Asian views / Of not feeling right / When you’re always in the fight.” Lowell, Massachusetts, junior Soma attracts attention online when she posts a video of her spoken-word poetry: her way of making sense of everything that’s changing in her life. Her mom is in Cambodia, trying to bring her dad back. Dahvy, Soma’s much older sister, moves back in and thinks she needs to be Ba and Ma combined. She’s gotten a job teaching at Soma’s high school and is engaged to Ruben Diaz, one of Soma’s former teachers. Will Ma return in time for the wedding? On the upside, Britney Roe, Soma’s crush, who is Black, wants to go on a date with her. Reckoning with family, love, and jealousy, Soma channels her anger into art by entering the annual Jack Kerouac Poetry Competition with best friend Sophat’s encouragement. Soma explores religion and spirituality, discusses Octavia Butler with Britney (“God is change”), and writes a poem exploring the question, “What’s God to you?” Yet, despite all her writing, she can’t seem to return any of Ba’s emails. Debut author Chum offers readers an education in Cambodian history, the Khmer people, and their Lowell community throughout this heartfelt family drama. His cultural respect and humor amplify the book’s strong sense of place.
An empowering coming-of-age story with genuine character growth. (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2023
ISBN: 9780063223356
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2023
Raw, delicate, and deeply caring.
When Death-Cast doesn’t call, fate intertwines the lives of two boys, both haunted by their pasts and with futures they can’t escape.
In this third installment of the series that opened with 2017’s They Both Die at the End, Paz Dario waits every night for Death-Cast to call—as it should have for his father nearly 10 years ago, when Paz shot him to save his mother’s life. But the call never comes. Death-Cast killed Paz’s dreams of an acting career: No one will hire him now because the world sees him as a villain. When Paz tries (not for the first time) to put an end to his suffering, an unexpected encounter with Alano Rosa, the heir of Death-Cast, stops him. Both in a place of desperation, Alano and Paz sign a contract to live for Begin Days instead of waiting for their End Days. As suspenseful and emotionally wrenching as the previous titles in the series, this new installment explores heavy themes of abuse, mental health, self-harm, and suicide. Paz grapples with a recent diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Silvera surrounds Alano and Paz with a web of complex relationships. Although the protagonists fall fast for one another and form a deep connection over Alano’s desire to support Paz, Silvera emphasizes the importance of professional help. Both Alano and Paz have Puerto Rican heritage. The cliffhanger ending promises more to come.
Raw, delicate, and deeply caring. (content warning, resources) (Speculative fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780063240858
Page Count: 720
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
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
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