An ambitious novel by the author of Wilful Blue (1994) about a family that runs a farm-cum-trailer park in Australia, although the tale would be just as at home in the rural US. The dynamics of the Willow family present a nightmare scenario: The mother is crazy, the father is abusive, and two of their five childrenJordan and Michelleare lovers. Reclusive and furtive, the family operates according to rules only its members understand and accept. The characters are skillfully drawn and, despite the fact that their lives (in another book) would be the stuff of soap operas, the third-person narration shows sufficient sympathy to make all of them believable. A wily artist arrives, discovers the lurking secrets, andapparently because his last name is Foxdecides to stir things up. The father is despicable, but Fox is the real villain, not because he sets off a chain of events that lead to the father's shooting Jordan, but because the narrator's stance toward him is wholly critical. He has no convincing motive; without him, there's no book. This flaw only partially undermines Hartnett's seriousand impressiveartistic intentions. She displays striking narratorial strengths: The novel is composed like a piece of chamber music, demonstrating her extreme adeptness at juggling characters and episodes. The syntaxa kind of sunless sea of present-tenseis tailored to a deliberate tonelessness, while the lexicon is poetically rich. If the novel doesn't quite live up to the standards it sets for itself, it's only that those standards are very high. (Fiction. 13+)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-670-86503-6
Page Count: 130
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1995
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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