Another engaging novel about teens as works in progress, from Wittlinger (Hard Love, 1999, etc.). The story is told from the point of view of Kenyon Baker, third and last child of two middle-aged schoolteachers. According to Ken, he was an unplanned, unexpected addition to the family, and has been mostly forgotten by his parents. They purchase a cottage camp on Cape Cod, planning to use it as the focus for a new life in retirement. From the start of this venture, things go wrong. Kenyon’s dad injures his back badly and is hors de combat as far as renovating the cottages is concerned. Kenyon makes friends in the town—friends that his mother vehemently disapproves of. On a trip to the garbage dump with his mother, he meets Razzle—eccentric, direct, socially underdeveloped, emotionally vulnerable, and, very, very likable. Razzle introduces Kenyon to two local teens, Primo and Harley, after which Kenyon’s summer becomes one of self-discovery and experimentation, artistically and emotionally. While totally engrossing, there are a couple of minor flaws to consider. The uneven characterization is dependent on descriptive shortcuts. The story climaxes in a melodramatic scene that dissolves or alters drastically all Ken’s relationships. It also ends too glibly, with Kenyon describing the different way he treats his parents, but not explaining how he changed the relationship. Teens, however, will not care about these flaws since they will find this compulsively readable. In many ways, Razzle dazzles. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83565-5
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
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
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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