Heartfelt, moving, and beautifully written.
In Vidal’s YA debut, a grieving teen takes his father’s ashes on a healing journey to Colombia.
Marcos Cadena’s life turns upside down when Papi unexpectedly dies in a motorcycle accident. On top of that, Marcos’ closest friends leave Miami the summer before junior year of high school, and he struggles to cope with his grief. But resourceful, athletic Marcos soon finds solace in writing poetry and in the magical realism he finds in his father’s old copy of One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. Márquez lived in Cartagena, the city where Papi was born. Composed in verse, Marcos’ story is warmly studded with memories of his loving dad—from the way Papi danced while he cooked to how he taught Marcos never to start a fight but to always defend himself. When Ma takes Marcos and his sister to Cartagena to pay a final tribute to his dad, Marcos meets Camilo, a teen cab driver with a tragic past who shares his affinity for Nobel laureate Márquez. The boys become fast friends, exploring Cartagena and shooting hoops together—until a dark secret that Camilo initially hides from Marcos threatens their newfound bond, potentially putting both boys in danger. A responsible son, protective older brother, and caring friend, sensitive Marcos will win readers’ hearts as he tries to navigate the complexities of both mourning and friendship with forgiveness and compassion.
Heartfelt, moving, and beautifully written. (Verse fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9780823457113
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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
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
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