Patient readers may appreciate this one.
Privileged teenager Yvonne must decide what to do with her future.
Yvonne has lost her passion for the violin...or she never had it to begin with. She’s unsure, but what is clear is that her longtime violin teacher has dropped her, and she feels lost. Yvonne’s mother left when she was little, and her famous chef father is rarely around and stoned most of the time. Feeling she has nothing to distinguish her—other than a passing compliment for her musical abilities from her childhood orchestra teacher—Yvonne is acutely aware of the fawning attention her father receives for his gifts. One day, strolling Venice Beach with her not-quite-official boyfriend, Warren, Yvonne is enraptured by two buskers. She’s especially taken by the violinist—handsome, dreadlocked Omar. After Warren prioritizes work on her 18th birthday, Yvonne begins hanging out with college-dropout Omar, whom she soon sleeps with, leading to complications. Yvonne engages in endless introspection, but her character feels flat, and the lack of forward momentum makes it difficult to sustain interest in her story. The musical theme does not ring true, and secondary characters are underdeveloped. The book takes on gentrification, double standards around female sexuality, and race (light-skinned Warren has a white father and identifies as black), but readers may long for more depth. All major characters are black, and Yvonne’s best friend has two moms.
Patient readers may appreciate this one. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 7, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-34905-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: June 17, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
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
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