A thoughtful LGBTQ+ YA novel exploring grief, identity, and love with honesty and care.
An Irish teen navigates the weeks after his grandfather’s death while forming an unexpected bond with a deaf South Korean boy in Doyle’s YA novel.
For 16-year-old Owen, the world becomes muffled and remote as his family navigates the aftermath of his artist grandfather’s recent death (“not speaking was easier than stuffing the void with emptiness”). Enter Jun-Ho, a deaf South Korean teenager whom Owen accidentally spills water on while painting in the park. Though their first encounter is less than picturesque, the next time they meet, Jun-Ho asks Owen to draw him. What follows is a slow blossoming of love, connection, and a respite from the all-consuming sadness that has seeped into Owen’s world. Melancholy clings to the narrative like a mist, especially in the early chapters, which are particularly affecting. Owen’s grief makes him hold everything a distance, but Jun-Ho breaks through his self-imposed isolation with ease. (After their second meeting, Own takes ISL classes at the community center to be able to talk to him.) The depiction of their romance sometimes falters—their instant connection is framed as magnetic, but it feels at times more constructed than lived-in. By contrast, Owen’s bond with his best friend, Ryan, hums with authenticity and natural rhythm. The narrative builds upon multiple relationships, serving as a broader meditation on various forms of love and connection—familial, platonic, romantic, communal—and the fragile ways they sustain us. The cast of supporting characters pulse with life and intention, offering texture and contrast. This is a thorough exploration of how, through different types of art and communication, the distance that grief oftentimes creates can be bridged. The pacing is deft; Doyle avoids lingering overlong on Owen’s sadness and rushing through his recovery. Moments of isolation, uncertainty, and quiet connection are given equal space. What emerges is a steady, emotionally grounded story that resonates without feeling forced.
A thoughtful LGBTQ+ YA novel exploring grief, identity, and love with honesty and care.Pub Date: July 22, 2025
ISBN: 9781917539012
Page Count: 360
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Aug. 27, 2025
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 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
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