A spiritual, intriguing, though somewhat uneven take on life, grief, and healing.
A high school senior returns to her family home—after she’s been dead for years.
Forman’s ability to capture the voices of teens shines in this heart-wrenching story of Amber Crane’s life, death, and (sort of) undeath. Amber, who reads white, died seven years ago, but on this day just before graduation, she’s standing in her family home, seemingly alive. The first people to see Amber are her mother—who, clearly in shock, starts screaming—and her younger sister, Missy, who’s now a blue-haired teenager. Amber doesn’t even realize she’s supposed to be dead until Missy tells her so. And that’s when the work of trying to make sense of what Amber’s doing here kicks into gear. Told from myriad points of view—so many, one could get lost—the novel threads together the lives of people in Amber’s orbit (and even some who didn’t know her directly), incorporating current-day perspectives as well as ones from the past. The story even goes as far back as 29 years, to the day when Amber’s parents met. While some of the backstory feels extraneous, and the chapters written from adults’ perspectives feel less compelling than those of the teen lead, Forman continually returns to Amber’s point of view, grounding her as the heart of this story, a necessary device to keep readers invested in the enduring question: Why is she back?
A spiritual, intriguing, though somewhat uneven take on life, grief, and healing. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780063346147
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
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
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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