This take on a trusted formula tries too hard to be different and ends up becoming overcomplicated.
Two what-if paths happen in tandem for a teen well-versed in the multiverse.
After a casual encounter with a whippet (the huffing kind, not the dog) Chris Schweitzer wakes up wondering how to explain his visit to the ER. He could lie and say he tripped over a milk crate; coming clean about his derelict behavior would be all kinds of uncomfortable (like the moving 2,000 miles to spend the summer with his famous theoretical physicist father or else forfeit college tuition kind of uncomfortable). So...he does both. Chris experiences the deconstruction of his friend triptych (besties Wexler and Anna hook up), the awkward waves of addiction group therapy, a boyfriend with all the benefits, a born-again alliance, and a family wedding. Chris and friends philosophize and theorize on existence, physics, and religion every step of both ways. They posit what-ifs that happen within the next chapter or have just happened in the previous one. Subtle typeset variations visually segregate the parallel stories. Diagrams peppered throughout meant to clarify can be confusing, muddled, and superfluous. As two different Chrises unwittingly inspire and respond to each other’s worlds, the white cast and dual narrative serve to make Chris realize he should be accountable for his own behavior. Would a sharper focus on only one of the universes have been better for narrative, conflict, and character development? Theoretically.
This take on a trusted formula tries too hard to be different and ends up becoming overcomplicated. (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: July 9, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5247-1522-9
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: April 21, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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