An intense evocation of a 12-year-old who's in a transition that threatens her sanity. Roz's single mother, Ellie—a breadmaker, nurturer, and companion to her only child, born after Ellie was raped by a stranger—died in a fall, apparently while rescuing a young hiker, Nate. Now with her uncle Mike, in Massachusetts, Roz is deeply withdrawn, reliving what might have happened, silently phoning Nate in New Jersey, haunted by unremembered dreams. Family counseling, mandated by Roz's school, is as useless as Mike predicts (he learned to stonewall therapy in a VA hospital); a scene where the two thwart a therapist is a splendid sample of Coman's ability to contrast surfaces with her characters' complex inner reality. In the end, Roz takes charge of her own trauma: catching a bus to New Jersey, she confronts a reluctant Nate (his dad fears a lawsuit) and finds that he knows little more about Ellie's death than she does (it's implied, but never stated, that it might have been suicide). When a frantic Mike catches up with her, the two begin to confide in each other (among other things, it's his dreams, of Vietnam, that have frequently awakened them both). Roz plans a unique, poignantly appropriate ceremony for burying her mother's ashes and finally relaxes her emotional ties enough to become her own person. A wonderfully spare and lyrical first novel, graced with a fresh voice, telling images, and subtly drawn characters who linger in the memory. (Fiction. 12+)
Pub Date: Sept. 20, 1993
ISBN: 0-374-37390-6
Page Count: 156
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1993
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
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations.
Magic, mystery, and love intertwine and invite in this newest take on the “enchanted circus” trope.
Sisters raised by their abusive father, a governor of a colonial backwater in a world vaguely reminiscent of the late 18th century, Scarlett and Donatella each long for something more. Scarlett, olive-skinned, dark of hair and attitude, longs for Caraval, the fabled, magical circus helmed by the possibly evil Master Legend Santos, while blonde, sunny Tella finds comfort in drink and the embraces of various men. A slightly awkward start, with inconsistencies of attitude and setting, rapidly smooths out when they, along with handsome “golden-brown” sailor Julian, flee to Caraval on the eve of Scarlett’s arranged marriage. Tella disappears, and Scarlett must navigate a nighttime world of magic to find her. Caraval delights the senses: beautiful and scary, described in luscious prose, this is a show readers will wish they could enter. Dresses can be purchased for secrets or days of life; clocks can become doors; bridges move: this is an inventive and original circus, laced with an edge of horror. A double love story, one sensual romance and the other sisterly loyalty, anchors the plot, but the real star here is Caraval and its secrets.
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-09525-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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