An earnest, entertaining tale of adolescence and fantasy fandom.
A young boy in 1980s Ohio embarks on a harrowing journey of self-discovery in Rapino and Grate’s middle-grade coming-of-age novel.
It’s 1988, and it’s 11-year-old Tommy Grant’s last summer before entering junior high. It turns out to be a memorable season for all the wrong reasons, though, as his incessantly feuding parents mull over divorce and his best friend dumps him. Things don’t get better during the new school year, as bullies target him and he becomes a social outcast. Tommy takes solace in his fandom of Order of Cosmic Champions, a canceled animated SF TV series that lives on in comic books and action figures. He also pins his hopes on a contest in which a winning design for a new OoCC character could score him a college scholarship and the chance to see his design made into a toy. The eventual results of this competition lead him to a rash decision: to secretly travel to Brooklyn, New York, alone to convince a stranger to make a dream come true. Along with the inherent dangers of hitchhiking, the imaginative 12-year-old faces inner demons that manifest as menacing OoCC villains, including Mechani-Ghoul, the rather vicious robotic character that he created. He’ll have to fight off these baddies if he wants any shot at reaching his destination. Meanwhile, back in Ohio, Miranda Vitalis, a new girl in school who’s taken a shine to oblivious Tommy, is worried about him. As she hunts for clues to where he’s gone, she may have to confront his parents, who’ve all but ignored their now-runaway child.
The fantasy sequences in Rapino and Grate’s story revel in ambiguity. Readers may wonder if these battles are just playing out in Tommy’s head or if they’re somehow real, which the narrative hints is possible. Although these sequences are exhilarating, the novel is at its best when it centers on real-world troubles. Tommy’s father, for example, is losing a struggle with alcohol addiction, and some readers may find the accounts of bullying difficult to read. Likable, intelligent Miranda is a welcome reprieve from this darkness, and she has more in common with Tommy than either of them initially realizes. The authors root the story in familiar popular culture; the cartoon and toy line, for instance, have more than a passing resemblance to He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. The villains sport such names as Skullagar and EyeSpy, and Tommy’s own dazzling (and terrifying) bad guy has a metal claw and an arm that’s a giant cleaver. Likewise, references to popular films, video games, and classic ’80s tech, such as VHS tapes and the Sony Walkman, often appear. The authors’ prose colorfully details everything from fantastical clashes to Tommy’s breakfast: “The pancakes were as fluffy as cartoon clouds, and the maple syrup with tiny puddles of melting butter was ambrosia.” The lively story, however, never loses sight of its main theme, as Tommy grows up and learns that one can’t always fight change.
An earnest, entertaining tale of adolescence and fantasy fandom.Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-62634-966-7
Page Count: 392
Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group Press
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
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
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