A funny children's story dealing with wife abuse doesn't sound promising, but Byars pulls if off with her understanding light touch. She assigns the problem a manageable distance by making the abused wife not Jackson's mother, who's divorced, but his beloved former sitter Alma, a simple soul devoted to Jackson, her own baby Nicole (named for a soap-opera character), her extensive collection of Barbie dolls, and shopping. Jackson's growing concern over Alma's bruises and black eye is all the more poignant for his mother's dismissal of his fears, and for Alma's avoidance of Jackson for fear that her husband will carry out his threat to attack the boy as well. The humor, which never belittles Alma's troubles, is sometimes slipped in as anecdotes about Jackson's pal Goat or his incorrigible cutup father. Sometimes the funny scenes are more central, as when an anxious Jackson and an excited Goat, 11-year-olds sitting on pillows for height, manage to drive Jackson's mother's car to take Alma to a battered-wives' shelter in a nearby town. That time, Alma changes her mind en route; but later, when she and the baby are both hurt badly, Jackson's mother steps in and gets her to the shelter. A plot outline of Cracker Jackson might suggest a banal gloss on a trendy problem; but Byars gives Jackson's part in the drama an affecting cast of feeling—never deep or disturbing, but never goopy either, and always within an 11-year-old boy's emotional framework.
Pub Date: May 1, 1985
ISBN: 014031881X
Page Count: 158
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1985
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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