A twisty noir mystery that will keep even the most reluctant of readers on the edges of their seats.
A young man is drawn back to his hometown after his father’s mysterious death.
Two years after he ran away from the small industrial town of Hope and moved to the city, Will Homer, now 18, receives a phone call letting him know that his ex-cop father has turned up dead, his body found in a pile of sulfur, presumably a suicide. Will’s own disappearance coincided with the death of the wealthy sulfur mill’s chairman, Aaron Sullivan, who was rumored to have a secret—and now missing—stash of gold. Despite knowing he will face questions about Sullivan’s death and the gold if he shows his face, Will is drawn back by the loss of his father as well as by memories of Eve, the love of his life and the girl he’s never stopped thinking about. As he starts looking into his father’s death, he discovers that there seems to be even more at stake. Fast-paced with an ominous tone, this mystery within a mystery makes every detail count. The development of character and setting are minimized in order to focus on the plot, and the carefully chosen vocabulary will make this work accessible to developing readers. Sex scenes and drug use are described briefly and in frank terms. Characters default to White.
A twisty noir mystery that will keep even the most reluctant of readers on the edges of their seats. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: April 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-4598-3160-5
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
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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