Dad is terminally ill, and Phillip's parents have left their midwestern farm and moved to New England. Now, Dad's hands grow soft while he watches TV; Mom is overprotective and has too little to do in a suburban house. Phillip's job at an animal hospital offers camaraderie, but not always comfort: together, he and the vets agonize over the pain that owners inflict on their pets and the deaths of discarded kittens. Feeling alienated at school, Phillip escapes to an abandoned house in the woods, to which he brings two rescued kittens. Though the school's best response is to wonder whether he's suicidal, Phillip does have supportive friends, especially nice Kris, in his class, and her sensible Aunt Mil. But his parents are so self-absorbed, and his own unrecognized grief for his father is so intense that Phillip is withdrawing not only from school but from other relationships. A turning point comes when his mother is called away, leaving Phillip in charge. At first his father's suddenly revealed craving to be alone feels like rejection, but it triggers some healthy realizations about how all the members of this nice but repressed family need to level with each other, reach out, and have something of value to do. Here, Haas—choosing telling words and incidents with unusual care—draws a perceptive portrait of a teenager of integrity, grappling with his parents' pain and his own. A fine performance, expanding on the concerns for animal rights and the characters introduced in The Sixth Sense (1988). (Fiction. 12+)
Pub Date: Oct. 23, 1992
ISBN: 0-688-10179-8
Page Count: 182
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1992
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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