Charming and informative.
After her relationship with a white boy is discovered, a spirited Chinese American teen tries to evade her father’s marriage ultimatum.
It’s the spring of 1924, and 16-year-old Ruby Chan is in trouble. News of her disastrous fling with Russell Blythe has reached her parents. Her father, who recently became the proprietor of an antiques store, is determined to prevent her from bringing more shame upon her family and their Los Angeles Chinatown community. To Ruby’s horror, Ba requests a San Francisco matchmaker’s services and announces that he’ll also be seeking a husband for Ruby during his upcoming trip to China; one way or another, her future will soon be decided. Unable to accept an arranged marriage and still working through everything that happened with Russell, Ruby takes steps to secure her independence, starting with a job at a department store. She also befriends 19-year-old Anna May Wong, the daughter of a local laundry store owner and a rising Hollywood actor whose daring, often villainous, film roles are dividing the Chinese American community. The story alternates between Ruby’s present and her memories of Russell, weaving together themes of Orientalism, sexism, and the tension between first- and second-generation immigrants’ approaches to assimilation. Despite some awkwardly expositional dialogue, Ruby’s determination and pride in her cultural heritage are easy to root for, and her narrative closes on a satisfying note.
Charming and informative. (content note, note on terminology, author’s note, discussion questions) (Historical fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: March 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781728493213
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
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
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
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