Relationships memorably ebb and flow over hot summer days in a Southern California town.
A young woman comes of age during the summer before her senior year in high school in Townzen’s YA novel.
The summer of 1996 is momentous for Stacey Chapman. Heading into her senior year at Mesa Valley High School, a town a couple of hours inland from the OC in California, she doesn’t take much pride in being a straight A student, serving as president of the debate team, or winning a statewide art competition. Stacey and her mom aren’t getting along, and she might want a more-than-platonic relationship with her best friend, Gabe. She also has a longstanding crush on Jessie, a recent high school graduate who is one of the other lifeguards at The Plunge, the community pool where both teens work. Throughout the summer, Stacey struggles to remake herself into someone more like the other lifeguards, who she perceives to be more perfect and generally cooler than she is. Jessie shows interest in her, but her long hoped-for date with him ends in a sexual assault. Dealing with feelings of guilt, self-recrimination, and isolation, Stacey’s personality changes alarm those who love her. A tragedy at the Plunge brings an early end to the season but brings the lifeguards closer. Stacey comes to better appreciate the importance of her relationships with Gabe and her mother, who urges her, “Don’t let other people determine how your life turns out.” In her fiction debut, Townzen deftly uses the music Stacey loves (played on CDs, of course) and other cultural touchstones (like the premiere of the movie Independence Day and the Atlanta Olympics) to evoke the summer of 1996. Stacey is a believable adolescent character whose insecurities keep her from appreciating her talents. Her teenage angst is universal and will resonate with young readers of any era; altogether, this is an absorbing read.
Relationships memorably ebb and flow over hot summer days in a Southern California town.Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2025
ISBN: 9798218516178
Page Count: 360
Publisher: Palm Tree Press Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 17, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
