A witty summer camp murder mystery where drama unfolds both on and off the stage.
Seventeen-year-old Ofelia “Faye” Abernathy has always played it safe at the Ghostlight Youth Theater Camp.
Faye, whose dad is Black Puerto Rican and mom is white, has ended up typecast in roles such as Cinderella and Glinda the Good Witch. But now that she’s attending camp for the final time before aging out of the program, she wants to make a change. She stops bleaching and straightening her hair into “nice-girl dullness,” instead embracing her Afro-Latina heritage and feeling like a more authentic version of herself. Faye dreams of being cast in the role of Veronica in the camp’s musical production of Riverdale and going out with a bang. However, she finds herself at odds with bestie Kai Tufo over the role, intrigued by a charming new camper, and publicly accused of murdering another one—and she realizes that this summer at Ghostlight will be memorable but not necessarily in the way she hoped. Anderson’s refreshingly diverse cast of characters includes kids of various cultural, racial, and LGBTQ+ identities, who are socially stratified as leads vs. ensemble members. Faye wrestles with self-doubt over her ability to break free from the mold she feels trapped in, and she struggles to balance loyalty to her friends with being true to herself. In this love letter to theater life, the joy and passion derived from the art form shine through brightly.
A witty summer camp murder mystery where drama unfolds both on and off the stage. (Horror. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781250370396
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: yesterday
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
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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