Queer resilience at its finest.
A boy falls in love with the ghost that’s possessing him.
Lonely high school senior Hollis Brown feels trapped. He has two close friends, Annie Watanabe and Yulia Ambibola, but his rural town is similar to many others—a dark, forgotten American dreamscape, devoid of industry and government investment. No one can afford to leave, but staying is slowly killing them. Hollis anticipates factory or construction work will be in his future, but near the woods he meets Walt, a strange teenage boy, who like Hollis presents white. In exchange for food and shelter, Walt will help Hollis get his life on track. Walt possesses Hollis’ body but allows him space inside their shared mind. Some of the small changes Walt makes do indeed make Hollis’s life better, but it quickly becomes clear that Walt has violent secrets and unfinished business. Nevertheless, the two fall for each other and begin to work to free Walt. But as their bond grows stronger, Hollis’ friends become suspicious of his strangely distracted behavior and “weirdly happy” mood, and the pair must figure out how to preserve their relationship. Ancrum’s tight writing style is perfect for this gritty thriller: simultaneously clipped and lyrical. Both boys are flawed and broken, but their caring connection for each other and themselves is beautiful. The novel’s rich tenderness for the town, its residents, and their ghosts makes it a must-read.
Queer resilience at its finest. (recipe resources) (Romantic thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: April 22, 2025
ISBN: 9780063285835
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: today
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
BOOK REVIEW
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