A supernatural story of love, friendship, and discovery that’s heartwarming and frightening, by turns.
Every place has their local legends, and for Port Townsend, it’s the long, unsolved tale of Crimson House—as a new tenant soon learns in Winters’ supernatural YA novel.
Sixteen-year-old Cameron Walsh has lived in the town of Port Townsend his whole life, and when handsome Hugo Cruz moves into the haunted Crimson House across the street, it feels as if fate is bringing them together. The house—which was, until recently, abandoned—has been the site of incidents both uncanny and inexplicable over the years, including ghost sightings, mysterious kidnappings, and deaths; it’s no wonder that Cameron has traumatic memories associated with it. Upon meeting 16-year-old Hugo, though, things change, as a romance blossoms between them; However, after a new, psychic friend (Chloe) and her girlfriend (Maya) joins their circle, things in Crimson House become stranger than ever. The group, which also includes Cameron’s best friend, Abby Nguyen, becomes determined to solve the house’s mysteries and uncover the truth about the White Lady, who haunts it. Ghost-hunting, spirituality, and tangled history—Winters’ novel has all the makings of a proper haunted house story. Along the way, the characters also learn what it means to be fully themselves, even when it feels as if the world is against them. It’s a story that’s engaging, sweet, and realistic all at once. The characters’ friendships feel meaningful, and the novel handles complex topics, such as anti-gay bigotry, family trauma, grief, and mental illness, with grace and sensitivity; it also offers moments of levity when necessary. Teen readers will find Cameron’s struggles with insecurity to be particularly relatable: “I turn away fast, a wave of self-consciousness washing over me. I wrap my arms around my stomach and shrink down, trying to be small and invisible.” Similarly, Hugo’s changing relationship with his widowed Pa in the wake of their shared loss, contrasted with Cameron’s tumultuous relationship with his dad, effectively reveals how LGBTQ+ youths can find it hard to be themselves within their own families.
A supernatural story of love, friendship, and discovery that’s heartwarming and frightening, by turns.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781965643013
Page Count: 378
Publisher: Maelstrom Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 20, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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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