A lively, heartfelt, and ultimately satisfying trilogy closer.
Angie navigates love, an unstable family life, and the journey to find out who she really is.
In this sequel to Fat Angie: Rebel Girl Revolution (2019), Angie’s back from her eventful road trip, where she poured her Iraq War veteran sister’s ashes in the Ohio River and discovered her powerful singing voice. For the most part, life feels amazing, and she’s about to ask her childhood best friend, Jamboree, to be her girlfriend. But then her ex, KC Romance, barrels back into her life, and a video of Angie singing goes viral (in a good way). Inspired by KC to join a singing competition, Angie forges ahead. Or tries to, anyway. Despite support from her brother, Wang, and a slightly too-large and confusing-to-follow group of friends and band mates, Angie struggles with her feelings for Jamboree and KC Romance as well as her father’s abandonment and her mother’s horrible abuse. Will she be able to embrace her passion as a singer and keep her relationships intact? Maybe—and maybe not. Charlton-Trujillo’s unique writing style livens up the text, although in some instances it drags the story down (e.g., “Angie rolled-not-rolled-but-mostly-rolled her eyes”). Angie’s love of her fat, beautiful body is refreshing, and her relationships with her friends and family feel nuanced and real. As before, the cast is diverse in ethnicity and sexuality.
A lively, heartfelt, and ultimately satisfying trilogy closer. (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0839-9
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2021
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
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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