Life for a girl trying to make ends meet after high school becomes complicated when her ex-boyfriend, a gang member, re-emerges in her life.
Grace works concessions in a Miami movie theater owned by a former gang member gone straight, and she volunteers at a Head Start pursuing her dream of working in early childhood education. When her ex Mateo shows up as the theater security guard, done with the gang that was the reason for their breakup, the two immediately feel the heat again. Grace is worried about her younger brother, Alex, who seems to be getting involved in the Locos. Grace asks Mateo to try to protect Alex and get him out of the gang. While pursuing a career as a paramedic, Mateo agrees and is unusually adept at knowing when to intervene. Diversity abounds. In addition to Latino Mateo, biracial Grace has Latina heritage on her mother’s side (her dad is white), and most of her friends and workmates are brown; savagely feminist Feenix is a special treat. Van Diepen knows her audience. There’s much excitement around attending a Pitbull concert with Nayer and Mohombi opening. The cute day care kids balance the boozy after-work parties, casual cursing, and underlying lust, just as the poetry creates a tonal counterpoint to the gang plotline.
It’s fast-paced, telenovela-style drama with dance parties, poetry slams, fights, blackmail, and life-threatening peril. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: April 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-243335-0
Page Count: 288
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Jan. 31, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
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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
Categories: TEENS & YOUNG ADULT ROMANCE | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES
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A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense.
32
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Everyone believes that Salil Singh killed his girlfriend, Andrea Bell, five years ago—except Pippa Fitz-Amobi.
Pip has known and liked Sal since childhood; he’d supported her when she was being bullied in middle school. For her senior capstone project, Pip researches the disappearance of former Fairview High student Andie, last seen on April 18, 2014, by her younger sister, Becca. The original investigation concluded with most of the evidence pointing to Sal, who was found dead in the woods, apparently by suicide. Andie’s body was never recovered, and Sal was assumed by most to be guilty of abduction and murder. Unable to ignore the gaps in the case, Pip sets out to prove Sal’s innocence, beginning with interviewing his younger brother, Ravi. With his help, Pip digs deeper, unveiling unsavory facts about Andie and the real reason Sal’s friends couldn’t provide him with an alibi. But someone is watching, and Pip may be in more danger than she realizes. Pip’s sleuthing is both impressive and accessible. Online articles about the case and interview transcripts are provided throughout, and Pip’s capstone logs offer insights into her thought processes as new evidence and suspects arise. Jackson’s debut is well-executed and surprises readers with a connective web of interesting characters and motives. Pip and Andie are white, and Sal is of Indian descent.
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-9636-0
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
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