A resonant exploration of the emotional lives of high schoolers with a time-bending twist.
In Hodgson’s YA novel, two teens separated by more than two decades find each other via a mysterious computer link.
Fifteen-year-old Sarah Saulson lives in Meference County in January 2001; Emma Stephenson, who’s also a sophomore at local Cardothia High School, lives in January 2022. Despite living in two different eras, the two girls become fast friends, bonding through online chats after a strange electrical storm forges a link across time between their two computers. Emboldened by the anonymity of the chat, both girls quickly share the struggles they’re facing in school, although Sarah is more forthcoming than Emma, at first. Sarah’s best friend has cut her off with no explanation; Emma briefly dated a popular classmate at school, and a risqué photo that she sent him appeared on his public social media page. He’s now dating her former friend, and ever since, Emma has endured a flood of cyberbullying from her classmates. Although the details of their difficulties differ, both girls have feelings of isolation and despair in common and advise each other accordingly. Hodgson portrays the emotional depths of both Sarah and Emma in a way that feels authentic, and it will ring true for teen readers facing similar situations. However, the two main characters accept the reality of the time bridge a bit too readily, asking each other only a few questions—mostly about 2022 internet lingo—before they’re satisfied. Also, despite their emotional closeness, they can’t intervene in each other’s lives; Sarah grows more confident with support from her parents, but Emma’s family is more distant, and she feels trapped in a downward spiral. This crisis comes to a head toward the end of the novel and leads to a reveal that perceptive readers will have seen coming from the second chapter. Still, the plot turn ties the threads of the narrative together in a satisfying way.
A resonant exploration of the emotional lives of high schoolers with a time-bending twist.Pub Date: April 18, 2024
ISBN: 9781038302175
Page Count: 264
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: June 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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