Equal parts horror and hilarity in a rousing aquatic escapade.
Nicky is shocked by something he glimpses in a local pond in this stand-alone follow-up to Brock (2024).
Their dad has a job and a likable new girlfriend, so things are looking up for Kenny, who sustained brain damage at birth, and his fiercely protective younger brother, Nicky. But when the boys go on a fishing expedition to a deep pond near a former meat pie factory, they spot a gold Rolex watch on what looks like an arm floating underwater. Nicky’s aware of how much the money would help the family if only he could recover and sell it. Unfortunately, he also regularly regales his credulous but delighted brother with gruesomely explicit tales of toothy pike that are capable of snatching certain precious body parts away from unwary skinny-dippers, which makes swimming out to investigate sound like a scary proposition even to himself. McGowan adds both a creepy, hooded stranger and a recently vanished local gangster (famous for his flashy Rolex) to the mix and dishes up a pair of wild nocturnal expeditions for the close-knit siblings. Everything culminates in a near-drowning, a successful retrieval of the watch, and (thankfully) a corpse-free explanation for its presence. Better yet, the boys’ father announces that he’s tracked down contact information for their long-departed mother, further lifting the buoyant ending of this engaging, concise, and accessibly written novel. The English cast largely reads white.
Equal parts horror and hilarity in a rousing aquatic escapade. (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781454954798
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Union Square & Co.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
PERSPECTIVES
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
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
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