Not perfectly constructed, but Faye’s strong yet flawed character is worth getting to know.
Faye, forced to become a drug addict at 11, now craves revenge against the men who first fed her Heam.
Heam, or Heaven’s Dream, functionally kills its users, allowing them a glimpse of what appears to be heaven. When drug dealers seeking to punish Faye’s father force-fed the drug to Faye and her friend Christian, Faye saw a hellish vision instead. Her chest covered in the red web of scars that mark survivors of a Heam overdose, Faye has spent the past several years becoming a skilled fighter in hopes of murdering the men she holds responsible for her downfall. Faye meets three people—a young Heam user, the sister of a missing Heam addict and a mysterious boy who pops up every time Faye follows her targets—and she begins to question whether revenge is truly the right course of action. The worldbuilding can be one-note: Readers learn a lot about Heam addiction and discrimination against Heam users, but no other drugs or stigmas seem to exist. Faye’s experience of addiction is also unconvincing. She tells readers that she craves the drug, but only rarely is there evidence of this. Faye’s relationships, however, romantic and otherwise, are compellingly drawn, and the plot is fast-moving and well-structured.
Not perfectly constructed, but Faye’s strong yet flawed character is worth getting to know. (Faye’s training schedule, watchwords, playlist) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-385-75412-5
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014
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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