A high-spirited yet bizarrely safe tale of a risky love.
Cartel violence engulfs two teens caught up in an inexplicable summer romance in Mexico.
A scrappy fighter since childhood, Ryan Hess, a white American, devotes himself to boxing, his time in the ring giving him his only sense of peace. After winning the opportunity to train under the direction of a legendary Mexican boxer, Ryan gladly leaves behind his Texas border town along with his emotionally abusive stepfather, who is a corrupt, power-hungry sheriff. Pushed by her family to become a doctor, Dalila Sandoval, a sheltered, affluent Mexican girl, can’t seem to escape her seemingly predestined path. Meeting at a concert and unable to shake their mutual attraction, the pair, of course, soon give in to their respective desires. But when Dalila’s renowned lawyer father gets involved in a turf war between two rival Mexican cartels, the love-struck teens end up in the middle of the power struggle. In her exploration of adolescent love, Elkeles (Wild Cards, 2013, etc.) blends genuine moments of raw passion with indistinct, broad strands of danger, alternating each chapter between Ryan’s and Dalila’s first-person narration. The flimsy character development features underwhelming attempts at interrogating gender roles. Some stilted Spanish phrases also crop up. Equal parts rushed and endearing, this love story concludes with an implausible showdown, lackluster revelations, and a surprisingly bittersweet coda.
A high-spirited yet bizarrely safe tale of a risky love. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 12, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-264196-0
Page Count: 352
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: April 2, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A troubling depiction of an unhealthy relationship.
A battered girl and an injured rugby star spark up an ill-advised romance at an Irish secondary school.
Beautiful, waiflike, 15-year-old Shannon has lived her entire life in Ballylaggin. Alternately bullied at school and beaten by her ne’er-do-well father, she’s hopeful for a fresh start at Tommen, a private school. Seventeen-year-old Johnny, who has a hair-trigger temper and a severe groin injury, is used to Dublin’s elite-level rugby but, since his family’s move to County Cork, is now stuck captaining Tommen’s middling team. When Johnny angrily kicks a ball and knocks Shannon unconscious (“a soft female groan came from her lips”), a tentative relationship is born. As the two grow closer, Johnny’s past and Shannon’s present become serious obstacles to their budding love, threatening Shannon’s safety. Shannon’s portrayal feels infantilized (“I looked down at the tiny little female under my arm”), while Johnny comes across as borderline obsessive (“I knew I shouldn’t be touching her, but how the hell could I not?”). Uneven pacing and choppy sentences lead to a sudden climax and an unsatisfyingly abrupt ending. Repetitive descriptions, abundant and misogynistic dialogue (Johnny, to his best friend: “who’s the bitch with a vagina now?”), and graphic violence also weigh down this lengthy tome (considerably trimmed down from its original, self-published length). The cast of lively, well-developed supporting characters, especially Johnny’s best friend and Shannon’s protective older brother, is a bright spot. Major characters read white.
A troubling depiction of an unhealthy relationship. (author’s note, pronunciations, glossary, song moments, playlists) (Romance. 16-18)Pub Date: Nov. 28, 2023
ISBN: 9781728299945
Page Count: 626
Publisher: Bloom Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
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
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