A funny, heartfelt ride with two lovable leads.
Former friends compete with one another for a new student’s affections.
High school seniors Caleb Daniels and Emma Jones were childhood friends, but they stopped talking after eighth grade. Protecting recent transfer Juliet Higgins (who’s queer and coded Black) from a bully lands Caleb in a fight he can’t handle. After Emma jumps in to rescue him, the two, who find Juliet very attractive, enter a competition for her heart: “Whoever she kisses first gets to ask her out.” Vying for Juliet’s attention brings Caleb and Emma (who are both white and bisexual) into frequent contact; as they repeatedly crash the other’s hangouts, their shared history intrudes, and their romantic feelings for each other become impossible to ignore. Caleb’s also struggling to bond with his absentee dad, while Emma is living out of her car after her tense relationship with her mother came to a boiling point. Caleb and Emma are vividly drawn, each with believable quirks, strengths, and weaknesses. The secondary characters, such as Juliet and Caleb’s mom, are also endearing. Because the narration alternates between the leads’ points of view, readers largely get to know Juliet through Caleb’s and Emma’s idealized, somewhat flattening perspectives. The dialogue, which includes a healthy dose of swear words and snark, rings true. While Caleb and Emma’s evolving relationship is the star of the show, friendships and familial relationships also play key roles.
A funny, heartfelt ride with two lovable leads. (content note) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: July 23, 2024
ISBN: 9780593403143
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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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