Oversized and 15, Lucy runs away from her bleak life to find herself faking adulthood in an adventure story which takes place in Alaska. After her mother’s abandonment, Lucy has felt obligated to become the caretaker for her alcoholic father. The distance between the two is enormous, notwithstanding Lucy’s frequently rescuing him from the cold storage room at his favorite bar. Lonely and ridiculed for her size at school, Lucy becomes attached to a stray dog only to learn that it is so ill that death is inevitable. Hurt and angry, she suddenly abandons her life in Sitka and finds herself transported to the Bering Sea, where the crab-fishing season is underway. Taken for an adult, she signs on as a crabber and discovers strength in herself and friendship, as well as earning respect and cash in the adult world. With a prologue that takes place ten feet below the surface of the Bering Sea, readers are always aware that ultimately events will become desperate. The overwhelming kindness of most strangers and the fortuitous play of events undermine the edge acquired by this device. Written in many terse sentences that might be intended to indicate homage to Hemingway (The Old Man and the Sea features in the narrative), Smith’s staccato style is occasionally effective, but often irritating. There is an abruptness in the action, an unrealistic scene where Lucy matches tequila shots with a fisherman, and the pacing falters. The narrative teeters between portraying the rugged life in the Arctic waters and the fragility of Lucy internal musings. The unusual setting and the issue of self-esteem as it relates to size are pluses in this otherwise middling first YA effort. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-385-72940-5
Page Count: 217
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2001
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters.
When star hockey player Alec Barczewski’s estranged childhood friend, Dani Collins, moves to town, they end up in a mutually beneficial fake-dating relationship that reignites old feelings.
Following her parents’ divorce, Dani and her mom move in with Dani’s hockey legend grandfather in Southview, Minnesota, where she spent a month every summer as a child and where her friendship with Alec grew. Between visits, the two were pen pals, but they eventually fell out of touch. Despite some tensions over their loss of friendship, the high school seniors reconnect. Desperate to get off Harvard’s waitlist, Dani needs another extracurricular activity, while Alec—whose reputation took a hit when a photo of him holding a bong appeared on social media—is eager to improve his tarnished image for NHL scouts. The pair strike a deal: They’ll fake date, making Alec look like a stable guy whose academically gifted girlfriend is related to hockey royalty, and in exchange, he’ll get Dani a team manager position that will catch the eye of Harvard’s admissions officers. Eventually, complicated feelings about their past, stressful family relationships, and their brewing romance boil over. Romance fans will love the deliciously tension-filled scenes between Alec and Dani, who are believable friends with heavy demands weighing on them. They feel like real teenagers, and readers will enjoy rooting for them as the well-paced story unfolds. Main characters present white.
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781665921268
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 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
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