A twin win: It’s hard to put down and stays with you after you finish.
In Hooyenga’s YA psychological thriller, when one of a pair of identical twins is kidnapped, the remaining twin impersonates her abducted sister.
The exhausted father of infant twins Eve and Gen falls asleep in the park with his daughters in a stroller, giving a kidnapper the opportunity to snatch Gen. Fast-forward 18 years: Gen has never been found, and Eve, on the verge of going away to college, has been pretending for years (with her father’s help) to be both twins for the benefit of her mother, who has had a shaky sense of reality since the abduction. When Eve was little, she didn’t understand why her mother didn’t drive or do other things that most moms did; in fact, with each passing year, her mom’s isolation felt more normal. Now, Eve’s mom never even leaves her bedroom. Eve’s dad’s rules are: “Don’t talk about Gen at school. Tell people Mommy is sick and stays home.” Eve and “Gen” each have their own bedroom and their own set of clothes; Eve often dresses in Gen’s clothes when she visits with her mom, pretending to be her twin. Perverse as this is, Eve’s life becomes even more twisted when she realizes her mom prefers Gen to her; Eve starts to have conversations with Gen, who threatens to take over Eve’s life. Hooyenga has written a true page-turner. The premise of a father and daughter going to such extreme lengths to keep an unstable wife and mother from plummeting further into despair is frankly unbelievable (does mom never want to see both her girls at the same time?), but once readers get past that, the story is irresistible. A major plot twist and a final shock are delightful surprises. The author’s sympathetic understanding of teens, the obstacles they encounter, and the dreams they keep is readily apparent.
A twin win: It’s hard to put down and stays with you after you finish.Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2025
ISBN: 9798330430468
Page Count: 316
Publisher: Left-Handed Mitten Publications
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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