Sweet and insightful.
Two teens find themselves caught up in a fraught summer romance against a backdrop of family stress.
Six years after her parents’ divorce and six months after her father’s death, 17-year-old Lili Gardner returns to Nantucket with her mother and younger sister to fix up Dad’s house. Over the summer, Lili hopes to finish his obsessive quest to clear the name of his ancestor Kezia Gardner, a smuggler during the Revolutionary War. Rebuffed by local history museums, Lili finds an unexpected source in 19-year-old Wren, whose family owns McCleave’s Mermaid Museum. To his father’s disappointment, Wren, who uses a wheelchair after breaking his back four years ago, prefers giving factual boating tours over spinning tales of fantasy. Wren disdains tourists ever since his mom—who originally arrived as a tourist—got tired of island life and left the family when he was 3. If Lili wants his help, she’ll have to volunteer at McCleave’s all summer, her seasickness notwithstanding. As Wren and Lili work together, their prickly relationship deepens into something warmer—even though Wren is dating Eryn, who faithfully stuck by him after his accident. The more Lili focuses on research, the more she alienates her family—just as Dad did. While some readers may find the resolution a bit tidy, Lili’s and Wren’s alternating first-person perspectives grapple thoughtfully with grief and romantic dilemmas. Most characters read white. An author’s note explains that Kezia is based on several historical figures with that name.
Sweet and insightful. (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: April 28, 2026
ISBN: 9781335014108
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Storytide/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2026
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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