A first love story full of sunshine.
Three outcast teens fall in love at summer camp.
Jassie never wanted to attend performing arts camp, but her parents sent her anyway to encourage her to make friends. She dreads the prospect of a full month away from home until she meets Syd, a confident rebel, and Ams, a quiet, genderqueer musician. Initially, Jassie’s simmering feelings for both teens confuse her, but as the three of them open up to one another, mutual attraction draws them into an unexpected triad. Each misunderstood in their own ways, together they find a new sense of belonging. Written in the first person, the story follows Jassie’s perspective. Her recent ADHD diagnosis surfaces as a concern, especially when she catches herself losing focus, but despite her insecurities, her partners ground her and praise her imagination. Romance drives the plot: The pacing of the relationship between Ams and Syd shifts abruptly from awkwardness to romance while Jassie’s feelings intensify through each of her interactions. Outside of the triad, few characters, including those who cause conflict, receive meaningful development. Even so, this hopeful love story with its idealistic happy ending provides important affirming representation for queer, polyamorous relationships. Jassie is South Asian and her family doesn’t eat pork, Syd seems to be white, and Ams is cued as Latinx.
A first love story full of sunshine. (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4594-1471-6
Page Count: 168
Publisher: James Lorimer
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2020
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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