Cyd Charisse embodies the child/woman nature of adolescence as she tows her doll, Gingerbread, through life. Gingerbread was given to her by her father the last and almost only time she saw him. Readers of Francesca Lia Block will find a familiar style here, and yet a Block character is only what Cyd could wish to be. Kicked out of boarding school, Cyd returns to San Francisco failing to tell her mother about an abortion or how unsupportive the boy involved has been. She’s got some sophistication, but it mainly hides her pain and allows her to live in a dreamy fantasy world with a new boyfriend. Shrimp and his brother Wallace run a coffee stand and Cyd goes to work, but mild lusting for Wallace muddies the situation. Once Mom grounds her for violating curfew, Cyd’s hipness fades somewhat. Loving parents, her mother and stepfather decide to see what her birth father in New York can do for her since his wife has recently died. The considerably older half brother welcomes Cyd, and he and his partner put her to work at their bistro. Half-sister Lisbeth has a harder time accepting this unconventional member to the family, and Dad remains distant. Cyd’s appreciation of her family back home grows, as does her confidence that she is lovable and valuable. Cohn is obviously familiar with the personality of both cities and has done her homework as to trendy dialogue, although it sometimes overwhelms characters and events. In spite of the relentlessly hip talk and trimmings, this is all utterly familiar, much like the spicy yet humble dessert of the title. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: March 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-689-84337-2
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2002
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
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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