While it doesn’t quite stand on its own, this sequel deftly develops the appealing characters.
A teenager narrates his confusing emotions in this second installment of a coming-of-age series.
Picking up right where the first volume, Why Can’t Life Be Like Pizza? (2014), left off, Roamer continues the story of Arvydas “RV” Aleksandravičius, who has just finished his freshman year at a high school in Boston. RV had been looking forward to spending the summer with his good friends Bobby Marshall and Carole Higginbottom—especially Bobby, as the two shared their burgeoning gay feelings and a first kiss at the close of the preceding novel. Those plans quickly go out the window. Carole gets the opportunity to spend the summer in Paris, and Bobby is being torn between football and arguing about his future with his father. To make matters worse, RV feels that things are off when Bobby does make time for him. RV also discovers that his younger brother, Ray, may be getting in over his head with the wrong crowd. As the teen’s parents stress over their upcoming citizenship exams to become official Americans and the gas station where Bobby works comes under fire from local gangs, it seems the only safe place RV can go is Joe’s, his favorite pizza shop. There, his trustworthy mentor Mr. Aniso is ready with slices and advice. RV maintains the charm and wit that made him a lovable narrator in the first installment. This second chapter expands further into the heavier themes floating beneath the surface of the protagonist’s life, namely, racism, xenophobia, homophobia, and the decline of the American dream. (RV’s father’s hesitancy to become a United States citizen and his inability to articulate clearly why he left Lithuania deliver a fresh, intriguing take on contemporary first-generation American life.) But many plot points, such as surprising violence at the gas station and Bobby’s reluctance to come out, never reach a satisfying conclusion. Still, the stage is effectively set for the next volume.
While it doesn’t quite stand on its own, this sequel deftly develops the appealing characters.Pub Date: May 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-64890-021-1
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Ninestar Press, LLC
Review Posted Online: Sept. 6, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
Disappointing.
Unlikely friends fight their growing feelings for each other while placing bets on other people’s love lives.
Bailey met Charlie while flying from Alaska, where she grew up, to Nebraska, where she and her mom would be living after her parents’ divorce. Although they briefly bonded over their parents’ divorces, Charlie’s cynicism grated on the rule-following Bailey, and she was thankful to part ways with him. Three years later, to Bailey’s dismay, she runs into Charlie when they both land jobs at Planet Funnn, a mega-hotel that’s “like a giant landlocked cruise ship.” This time around, Bailey and Charlie begin to get along better. To entertain themselves during their long shifts, they observe and make bets about the hotel guests. But they risk taking it too far when they bet on whether their co-worker Theo will end up with Nekesa, Bailey’s best friend, who’s in “a perfect relationship with the perfect guy.” The book explores Bailey’s conflicted feelings toward her mom’s new relationship with Scott (who doesn’t “do anything wrong” but whose presence changes “the vibe” at home), but it does so in a way that diminishes a primary source of conflict. Bailey's and Charlie’s feelings become even more complicated when Charlie helps Bailey with a fake-dating scheme intended to scare Scott off. Some of the banter between the leads, who are coded white, feels more aggressive than playful, detracting from their intimacy, and the circuitous plot may fail to sustain readers’ interest.
Disappointing. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 28, 2023
ISBN: 9781665921237
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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