A warm, sharply observed coming-of-age story with a strong Latina at its center.
A Latina teen with a killer pitch faces ghosts both literal and figurative in this blend of sports fiction and magical realism from Ferguson.
Lupe Lopez has one goal: become the first in her family to graduate high school and earn a softball scholarship. But with graduation slipping through her fingers, she takes on volunteer work at a retirement home to boost her credits toward graduation. Here she meets Mr. Ramirez, a spirited former baseball coach whose wisdom goes well beyond the sport. Their unlikely friendship deepens when Lupe encounters the ghost of former baseball all-star Roberto Clemente, uncovering a supernatural mystery that challenges everything she thought she knew about the game, herself, and her community. Caught between cultural expectations, academic pressure, and her own dreams, Lupe must find the courage to define success on her own terms. The author’s concept is undeniably clever even if it follows familiar beats; it celebrates Latina culture with heart, humor, and an earnest sense of purpose. The story thoughtfully reflects on the progress Latinx athletes have made, honoring trailblazers like the legendary Clemente, while highlighting the ongoing challenges and triumphs faced by young Latinas. This blend of cultural pride and personal struggle gives the narrative both depth and resonance. Ferguson, best known for her YA fiction centered on gritty, heartfelt Latina protagonists, brings her trademark authenticity and insight to this novel. She explores layered themes of identity, cultural heritage, empowerment, and social justice, often placing her protagonist at the intersection of personal ambition and community expectations. Lupe feels fully realized as she navigates challenges on the field, in the locker room, and within her own family. The narrative will no doubt resonate with readers facing similar struggles, offering both relatability and inspiration.
A warm, sharply observed coming-of-age story with a strong Latina at its center.Pub Date: Dec. 19, 2024
ISBN: 9780967330099
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Luz Publications
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.
A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character.
Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters sent to and received from, among others, her brother, sister-in-law, children, former work associates, and, intriguingly, literary icons including Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Perhaps most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth.
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780593798430
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
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