Authentic and artful.
London teens navigate crushes and family drama in this story that highlights making errors—and making amends.
Matilda Taylor isn’t happy that Grandad is moving in—there’s enough going on, and she’s sure they won’t be able to handle his Alzheimer’s. Tilly and best friend Teddy Booker are still processing the loss of their beloved mutual friend, Grace, three years earlier, when they were 13. On top of that, Tilly and Teddy don’t always feel like they fit in with their musical families: They aren’t creative and have no interest in pursuing careers in the arts. But when Teddy needs support with going after Katherine Cooper-Bunting, the girl he fancies, Tilly begrudgingly accompanies him to the community theater audition where Katherine will be. Unfortunately, when Tilly first lays eyes on Katherine, she’s smitten. Organized into three acts, this novel includes a sex-positive, will-they-won’t-they romance that follows Tilly’s desperate attempts to protect her friendship with Teddy while also harboring a secret crush. Against the backdrop of West End amateur dramatics, the delightful cast of characters provides pages of witty banter, swoony moments, and poignant scenes. Tilly and Teddy navigate their familial and grief-related traumas productively, and the mistakes they make are addressed seamlessly, with respect, and in a non-preachy manner. This sweet and serious story is perfect for fans of Alice Oseman. Main characters read white.
Authentic and artful. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2024
ISBN: 9780374314026
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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
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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