A well-crafted and resonant novel about an overburdened teenage girl’s journey toward self-realization.
A teenage poet, burdened by her dysfunctional family, reaches a breaking point in this YA novel.
When Lauren’s father, an actor and addict, left the family and her mother’s bipolar condition worsened, she was left to run the household and protect and care for her mom and younger sisters while also attending high school. The teen’s narration is consistently compelling as she struggles to cope: “I’ve only been on this planet for seventeen years, nine months, and eight days, and I’m already exhausted. But I hate complaining….Everything is fine….I have everything completely, totally, utterly handled.” After two years with no help other than her grandmother’s financial support, Lauren, an aspiring poet, dreams of attending a prestigious writing fellowship when she turns 18. But how can she abandon her vulnerable mother and siblings: Matty, a hurt, snarky 14-year-old; and sweet Sara, who’s 4? When her father suddenly reappears, she feels anger, skepticism, and hope, by turns—but change comes only when Lauren attempts to redefine herself and escape her burden. There’s nothing glib about the protagonist’s emotional journey in this work by playwright/novelist Wood. Lauren resents that her parents’ difficulties have forced her to become the family’s responsible parental figure. She’s embarrassed by her mother’s happy whirling in grocery-store aisles and by the fact that she has to retrieve her, half-dressed, from a public fountain. Yet the author also makes it clear that although Lauren yearns not to be her family’s “fixer,” she also cares too much about her family to relinquish the role. The teen movingly shows compassion and empathy for her mother, seeing the confusion and fear underneath her mother’s exuberance. Her annoyance at adolescent Matty’s sarcasm is tempered, too, by her understanding of the anger that motivates it. Wood also ably gets across the emotion in Lauren’s frank observations, her word-of-the-day journaling, her e.e. cummings–inspired poetry, and her recurring visions of “Dream Lauren” in her sleep. Finally, she skillfully frames Lauren’s defining moment of freedom.
A well-crafted and resonant novel about an overburdened teenage girl’s journey toward self-realization.Pub Date: March 29, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-64-540447-7
Page Count: 247
Publisher: Speaking Volumes
Review Posted Online: June 16, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Raw, delicate, and deeply caring.
When Death-Cast doesn’t call, fate intertwines the lives of two boys, both haunted by their pasts and with futures they can’t escape.
In this third installment of the series that opened with 2017’s They Both Die at the End, Paz Dario waits every night for Death-Cast to call—as it should have for his father nearly 10 years ago, when Paz shot him to save his mother’s life. But the call never comes. Death-Cast killed Paz’s dreams of an acting career: No one will hire him now because the world sees him as a villain. When Paz tries (not for the first time) to put an end to his suffering, an unexpected encounter with Alano Rosa, the heir of Death-Cast, stops him. Both in a place of desperation, Alano and Paz sign a contract to live for Begin Days instead of waiting for their End Days. As suspenseful and emotionally wrenching as the previous titles in the series, this new installment explores heavy themes of abuse, mental health, self-harm, and suicide. Paz grapples with a recent diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Silvera surrounds Alano and Paz with a web of complex relationships. Although the protagonists fall fast for one another and form a deep connection over Alano’s desire to support Paz, Silvera emphasizes the importance of professional help. Both Alano and Paz have Puerto Rican heritage. The cliffhanger ending promises more to come.
Raw, delicate, and deeply caring. (content warning, resources) (Speculative fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780063240858
Page Count: 720
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
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
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
