Humorous, wise, and comforting.
A teenager finds the world is more complicated than she thought.
Sixteen-year-old Bliss Adair loves the order and predictability of math and knitting. She’s never been kissed and doesn’t really get boys. Bliss spends most of her time when not at school at String Theory, her parents’ knitting store, located just outside Toronto. One day, while ensconced in the store’s secluded window seat, Bliss overhears a whispered phone conversation by the mother of classmate Finn Nordin that appears to be about an adulterous meeting, and she is alarmed. To complicate matters further, Bliss and Finn are picked to represent their school in the grade 11 math competition run by the University of Waterloo. Bliss wonders if she should tell Finn (whom she doesn’t know well) what she overheard. Meanwhile, store regular Mrs. Bart confides to Bliss that Sydney, her pregnant 16-year-old granddaughter, will be staying with her. Might Bliss help her navigate school? Suddenly, Bliss’ orderly math-and-knitting world is turned topsy-turvy. Narrated in the first-person present tense by Bliss’ warm, authentic voice, the story is notable for its depiction of acceptance and community even as things get a bit tense. Main characters read White; others who are diverse in ethnicity and sexuality round out the ensemble. This story delivers nuggets of wisdom, a balanced outlook, and the refuge of knitting—just take it one stitch at a time.
Humorous, wise, and comforting. (knitting guide and patterns, author interview) (Fiction. 12-17)Pub Date: April 30, 2023
ISBN: 9780889956841
Page Count: 312
Publisher: Red Deer Press
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023
A meditation on a timely subject that never forgets to put its characters and their stories first
An Afghani-Australian teen named Mina earns a scholarship to a prestigious private school and meets Michael, whose family opposes allowing Muslim refugees and immigrants into the country.
Dual points of view are presented in this moving and intelligent contemporary novel set in Australia. Eleventh-grader Mina is smart and self-possessed—her mother and stepfather (her biological father was murdered in Afghanistan) have moved their business and home across Sydney in order for her to attend Victoria College. She’s determined to excel there, even though being surrounded by such privilege is a culture shock for her. When she meets white Michael, the two are drawn to each other even though his close-knit, activist family espouses a political viewpoint that, though they insist it is merely pragmatic, is unquestionably Islamophobic. Tackling hard topics head-on, Abdel-Fattah explores them fully and with nuance. True-to-life dialogue and realistic teen social dynamics both deepen the tension and provide levity. While Mina and Michael’s attraction seems at first unlikely, the pair’s warmth wins out, and readers will be swept up in their love story and will come away with a clearer understanding of how bias permeates the lives of those targeted by it.
A meditation on a timely subject that never forgets to put its characters and their stories first . (Fiction. 12-17)Pub Date: May 9, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-338-11866-7
Page Count: 402
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 19, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PROFILES
Despite some missteps, this will appeal to readers who enjoy a fresh and realistic teen voice.
A teenage, not-so-lonely loner endures the wilds of high school in Austin, Texas.
Norris Kaplan, the protagonist of Philippe’s debut novel, is a hypersweaty, uber-snarky black, Haitian, French-Canadian pushing to survive life in his new school. His professor mom’s new tenure-track job transplants Norris mid–school year, and his biting wit and sarcasm are exposed through his cataloging of his new world in a field guide–style burn book. He’s greeted in his new life by an assortment of acquaintances, Liam, who is white and struggling with depression; Maddie, a self-sacrificing white cheerleader with a heart of gold; and Aarti, his Indian-American love interest who offers connection. Norris’ ego, fueled by his insecurities, often gets in the way of meaningful character development. The scenes showcasing his emotional growth are too brief and, despite foreshadowing, the climax falls flat because he still gets incredible personal access to people he’s hurt. A scene where Norris is confronted by his mother for getting drunk and belligerent with a white cop is diluted by his refusal or inability to grasp the severity of the situation and the resultant minor consequences. The humor is spot-on, as is the representation of the black diaspora; the opportunity for broader conversations about other topics is there, however, the uneven buildup of detailed, meaningful exchanges and the glibness of Norris’ voice detract.
Despite some missteps, this will appeal to readers who enjoy a fresh and realistic teen voice. (Fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-282411-0
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
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