Depending on taste, either a heartbreaking evocation of feels or endless slog of misery.
A bleak, poignant story about families: those you’re born with, those you find, and those you try to steal.
Sammy Lou, only 15, and his autistic older brother, Avery, are homeless, scraping by on Avery’s precarious earnings and whatever Sammy can steal. Until he breaks into the De Lainey house, the polar opposite of empty: one dad, seven kids, and all their friends. Sammy hides in the effervescent chaos, aided by the gorgeous, ferocious, talented Moxie…until his past catches up with him. Australian author Drews leans hard on the pathos, burdening undersized Sammy (cued as white) with a runaway mother, a brutal criminal father, an abusive aunt, constant hunger, illness, and injury; but also an explosively violent temper and toxic co-dependency with Avery. Lush prose with distracting lapses into idiosyncratic formatting reveals a lonely, self-loathing teen yearning to belong. Avery is a complicated foil; his autism presents matter-of-factly, neither blamed for nor excusing his poor choices. Other characters are less well drawn; Moxie, with her olive skin and frizzy “chocolate hair,” may have her own goals but serves mostly as a vehicle for Sammy’s dreams; her brothers exist to be charmingly quirky; and every adult (except the improbably saintly De Lainey father) is cruel, exploitative, or at best indifferent. The downward spiral of Sam’s bad decisions accelerates until only a metaphorical fairy godparent can provide a barely hopeful resolution.
Depending on taste, either a heartbreaking evocation of feels or endless slog of misery. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4083-4992-2
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Orchard/Hachette UK
Review Posted Online: March 10, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
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
A uniquely arranged bouquet of terrors, as disturbing as it is beautiful.
A family’s secrets rise to the surface as a young man investigates a suspected murder.
Evander, who’s 17 and lonely, never leaves his room in the manor on Hazelthorn Estate. He’s told he’s too fragile and is locked away “for his safety” while an elderly butler feeds him brain-addling “medicine.” But one night changes Evander’s life—and the manor’s future—forever. Byron Lennox-Hall, Evander’s billionaire guardian and the family’s patriarch, dies unexpectedly. Relatives descend upon Hazelthorn like vultures as a shocking twist reveals that Byron left everything to Evander alone. Without Byron around to keep his only grandchild and presumed heir, Laurence “Laurie” Lennox-Hall, away from his ward, Laurie and Evander become the unlikeliest of allies. When they were boys, Laurie attempted to kill Evander—but, maddeningly, Evander can’t stop thinking about him. He also suspects that someone murdered Byron. Drews’ latest starts off as a straightforward whodunit and turns into something that’s far more sinister—and delicious. From descriptions of moth-eaten decay to vivid floral imagery, Drews luxuriates in atmospheric prose. Their literary green thumb nurtures intertwining themes of monstrosity and abuse alongside yearning, first love, queerness, and mystery. The slow-burn romance at the root of this blend of gothic and body horror is as tender as it is unforgettable. Evander is cued as autistic, and main characters present white.
A uniquely arranged bouquet of terrors, as disturbing as it is beautiful. (author’s note) (Horror. 13-18)Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9781250376299
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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