A spooky and inclusive Halloween grab bag.
Queer, racially diverse teens face the uncanny and macabre in this Halloween-themed anthology.
The introduction by editors Page and Brown points out the harm done by the lack of positive representation of queer people and people of color in the horror genre, something these narratives hope to help change. Each tale shares a common setting—Halloween during a blue moon—but beyond that there is considerable variety in subject matter and focus, including grief, romance in the face of imminent peril, and Halloween’s relationship to queerness. Writing styles and tones vary from modern gothic (in Vanessa Montalban’s “Welcome to the Hotel Paranoia”) to campy (in Sara Farizan’s “A Brief Intermission”) to melancholy (in Kosoko Jackson’s “Rocky Road With Caramel Drizzle”). Though the subtitle promises “terror,” most of the stories are milder takes on the genre, welcoming more sensitive readers but not likely to keep die-hard horror fans up at night. Some spine-chilling standouts include “Guested” by Rebecca Kim Wells, written in the second person, in which “you,” the protagonist, investigate a strange party where guests become “someone else for one night only,” and “Nine Stops” by Trang Thanh Tran, which follows a Vietnamese American girl who finds herself captivated by an unnerving viral video. The most successful entries are those that deeply explore the human experiences of conquering fear and facing darkness in both the wider world and oneself.
A spooky and inclusive Halloween grab bag. (contributor bios) (Horror anthology. 13-18)Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2023
ISBN: 9781250892980
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2023
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
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
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