An entertaining romance that explores deeper themes of trust and expectations.
A week after graduating from high school, Quinn Berkowitz is unsure what to do with her life.
Quinn’s Jewish family runs a wedding planning business in Seattle called Borrowed + Blue, and they assume that, after earning a business degree in college, she will join them. For years, Quinn has gone along with this, partly because she wonders whether leaving the business would mean losing her connection to her parents and her sister, Asher, who sometimes feel more like colleagues than family. But her future career isn’t the only thing Quinn is confused about. Working at weddings all summer means that she will be in constant contact with Tarek Mansour, the Egyptian American son of her parents’ favorite caterers. Before he left for college, Quinn sent Tarek an email confessing that she had a crush on him—an email he never answered. Although Quinn tells herself that they were never meant to be—Tarek is a hopeless romantic whereas she doesn’t believe in love—her feelings won’t go away. As the summer progresses, Quinn must make some tough choices about her future, her family, and a boy who might very well be her first love. Quinn’s narratorial voice is engaging and clever, deftly balancing humor and sincerity, and her OCD is woven naturally into a story with characters who are layered enough to keep readers interested.
An entertaining romance that explores deeper themes of trust and expectations. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: June 8, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-4027-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
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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