Achingly, beautifully written.
A hardworking high school senior strives to keep his future bright while driving around his drug-dealing friend.
Benny and Lawson, both raised by struggling single moms after their fathers left, are neighbors, best friends, and total opposites. Lawson, a white boy who’s charismatic and popular, goes to school mainly to deal drugs—not to study. Mexican American Benny, who’s quiet and studious, ranks near the top of their class. Lawson helps Benny come out of his shell at parties and stands up for him against bullies, and Benny is there when Lawson needs a ride. Benny’s mom holds down multiple cleaning jobs, works to stay sober, and encourages her son to go to college. By contrast, Lawson’s mom, who’s on welfare, depends on Lawson dealing marijuana to make rent. As graduation nears, the duo find themselves on dangerously different paths. Feeling trapped by his dependent mother and a new, violent drug boss, Lawson starts selling harder drugs. The risk of getting arrested or attacked because of Lawson’s drug dealing terrifies Benny, who threatens to stop driving Lawson around. Written in swift, emotive verse from Benny’s perspective, this work will leave readers empathizing with Benny’s struggle to prioritize his own future while remaining loyal to the childhood best friend he genuinely wants to help. But it’s the expertly paced plot twist at the end that makes Benny and Lawson’s story heartbreakingly unforgettable.
Achingly, beautifully written. (Verse fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9781324052821
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Norton Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
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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