Emotionally dark and keenly observant, perfect for fans of E. Lockhart’s We Were Liars (2014).
Sloane’s grief over the murder of her best friend, Piper, is complicated by the rifts that had recently been developing in their friendship.
With coordinated looks, joint post-graduation plans, and a vow to never be separated by boy drama, Piper and Sloane are blonde, white, well-to-do high school seniors who epitomize best friendship. Dynamic Piper can be demanding, but Sloane mostly views these moments as simply the cost of their friendship. Until Piper suddenly snags Sloane’s longtime crush, Soup (painfully nicknamed by a teacher for being “a mix of every race anyone could even name”), as her boyfriend. Inwardly seething, Sloane sometimes almost hates Piper. Seemingly oblivious, Piper has sex with Soup and then determines that maintaining friendship synchronicity requires Sloane to also have sex. Sloane’s acceptance of the bizarre ultimatum leads to disaster. Saving the plot from sliding into melodrama is Sloane’s razor-sharp narration, which unsparingly reveals both her dependence on Piper and her growing awareness of Piper’s occasionally predatory nature. The resulting fascinating character study resists easy explanations of how the girls both adore and harm each other in nearly equal measures. And the layered plotting, in which key moments seem to spiral toward one another through the disjointed timeline, adds intriguing complexity. Issues of race and class arise, but the girls’ relationship remains the central conflict.
Emotionally dark and keenly observant, perfect for fans of E. Lockhart’s We Were Liars (2014). (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-374-30246-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Oct. 29, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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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