A simple, plot-driven read that introduces younger readers to underrepresented characters and histories.
A young Indigenous woman must find a way forward as forces threaten her family, home, and history in Ferguson’s historical YA novel.
In 19th-century Alta California, in the era of the Mexican-American War, Sparrow, a Chumash teenager, and her mother, Nina, a seasoned healer who preserves her family’s customs, live on the property of the Tenorios, a wealthy Mexican family. The Tenorios employ her mother and treat Sparrow with the affection befitting a second family. However, when Sparrow finds her estranged White father implicated in an American plot to wrest Alta California from the Mexican governor’s control, she finds her future, loyalties, and perception of herself cast into doubt. Conspiring with the colorful cast of Tenorios, Sparrow undertakes a journey to protect not just her family and their territory but the fundamental rights and humanity of all Indigenous peoples. Though she loses much in the process, readers will find themselves inspired by the future Sparrow creates for herself and those around her. The prose can read drily—in the wake of the rejection, guilt, and general turmoil Sparrow suffers in relation to her estranged father, the emotional impact of their eventual reunion is signaled only by the blunt remark that his “words rebuilt Sparrow’s hope that he wanted to share his life with her.” But the novel provides a necessary look at historical events and peoples that have often been ignored in fiction (and in real life). The tightly wound plot flows effortlessly from one moment to the next, never leaving readers disengaged or in the dark. Sparrow is not a fully developed protagonist and at times her actions seem subject to the whims of the story. Nevertheless, the reader will feel compelled to follow her journey from girlhood to adulthood and self-determination, wishing her well at each step. Critically, the novel does not paper over the abuse, exploitation, or erasure of Indigenous people at the hands of colonial forces while remaining suitable for its audience.
A simple, plot-driven read that introduces younger readers to underrepresented characters and histories.Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9780967330082
Page Count: 190
Publisher: Luz Publications
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
A prototypical survival story: after an airplane crash, a 13-year-old city boy spends two months alone in the Canadian wilderness. In transit between his divorcing parents, Brian is the plane's only passenger. After casually showing him how to steer, the pilot has a heart attack and dies. In a breathtaking sequence, Brian maneuvers the plane for hours while he tries to think what to do, at last crashing as gently and levelly as he can manage into a lake. The plane sinks; all he has left is a hatchet, attached to his belt. His injuries prove painful but not fundamental. In time, he builds a shelter, experiments with berries, finds turtle eggs, starts a fire, makes a bow and arrow to catch fish and birds, and makes peace with the larger wildlife. He also battles despair and emerges more patient, prepared to learn from his mistakes—when a rogue moose attacks him and a fierce storm reminds him of his mortality, he's prepared to make repairs with philosophical persistence. His mixed feelings surprise him when the plane finally surfaces so that he can retrieve the survival pack; and then he's rescued. Plausible, taut, this is a spellbinding account. Paulsen's staccato, repetitive style conveys Brian's stress; his combination of third-person narrative with Brian's interior monologue pulls the reader into the story. Brian's angst over a terrible secret—he's seen his mother with another man—is undeveloped and doesn't contribute much, except as one item from his previous life that he sees in better perspective, as a result of his experience. High interest, not hard to read. A winner.
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1987
ISBN: 1416925082
Page Count: -
Publisher: Bradbury
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1987
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