A highly readable YA novel about teen life and romance.
A gay high schooler dives into the dating world in Roamer’s fifth YA novel in a series.
High school junior RV is excelling academically at the prestigious Boston Latin School, but his guidance counselor tells him that he needs to find some extracurriculars to make his college applications shine. His best friend, Carole, uses this as an excuse to make RV her campaign manager in her quest to become a representative on the powerful School Site Council. However, his boss at the local movie theater decides to promote him to projectionist, which comes with a new slate of stresses. Meanwhile, RV’s Lithuanian immigrant parents, who now know he’s gay—though they haven’t said much about it—expect more help at home from RV and his brother, Ray, including assistance flipping a house they recently purchased. As RV struggles to handle these new responsibilities, he’s thrown into a tentative new relationship with Luke, a handsome new classmate whom he meets at a swanky party. Will RV manage to keep all his plates spinning while embarking on that most terrifying of teenage endeavors: dating? Roamer’s prose is slick and accessible, and he succeeds in placing the reader right in the middle of RV’s anxious adolescent mind. Here, for instance, the teen chastises himself for looking forward to a planned date with Luke: “Don’t get too excited, RV. You’ve been there before. You know how these things go. And even if Luke says you didn’t screw anything up the first time, that second chance is also another chance for screwing things up.” The book isn’t entirely realistic; RV and his peers don’t talk much like contemporary American teens, and with the exception of the opinionated Carole, the secondary characters don’t feel very distinctive. Regardless, RV makes for an endearing protagonist, and fans of earlier books in the series will not be let down by this one.
A highly readable YA novel about teen life and romance.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-1-64890-490-5
Page Count: 130
Publisher: NineStar Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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BOOK REVIEW
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
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations.
Magic, mystery, and love intertwine and invite in this newest take on the “enchanted circus” trope.
Sisters raised by their abusive father, a governor of a colonial backwater in a world vaguely reminiscent of the late 18th century, Scarlett and Donatella each long for something more. Scarlett, olive-skinned, dark of hair and attitude, longs for Caraval, the fabled, magical circus helmed by the possibly evil Master Legend Santos, while blonde, sunny Tella finds comfort in drink and the embraces of various men. A slightly awkward start, with inconsistencies of attitude and setting, rapidly smooths out when they, along with handsome “golden-brown” sailor Julian, flee to Caraval on the eve of Scarlett’s arranged marriage. Tella disappears, and Scarlett must navigate a nighttime world of magic to find her. Caraval delights the senses: beautiful and scary, described in luscious prose, this is a show readers will wish they could enter. Dresses can be purchased for secrets or days of life; clocks can become doors; bridges move: this is an inventive and original circus, laced with an edge of horror. A double love story, one sensual romance and the other sisterly loyalty, anchors the plot, but the real star here is Caraval and its secrets.
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-09525-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
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BOOK REVIEW
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