This cross-cultural story, which is narrated in short takes by each of the three protagonists in turn, is set during the...
Three girls with completely different styles, interests and upbringings initially clash during a ritzy summer boarding-school program in Switzerland before becoming the best of friends.
This cross-cultural story, which is narrated in short takes by each of the three protagonists in turn, is set during the summers of 1971, 1972 and 1973, with an epilogue ten years later. The book begins when the three girls—Vivien, a plump Jewish and Catholic Cuban, Shirin, a psychologically delicate high-born Iranian, and Ingrid, a wild, artistic Canadian girl of German extraction—are 14. The novel follows their romantic, scholastic, career-focused and personal adventures, charting their psychological progress as they transform from girl to woman. Once the three protagonists become friends, they provide each other with comfort, criticism and support, and the rolling first-person narration gives readers multiple perspectives on their lives. Although the girls talk about their devotion to each other, the biggest flaw in the story is that they seem so incompatible that readers will have a hard time buying into the frisson of their friendship. Moreover, despite the specificity of the time period and assorted historical references, the flavor of the era is never effectively conveyed and seems to have been selected to facilitate a big but unnecessary coincidence near the end of the story.Pub Date: July 12, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4169-7920-3
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2011
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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