An emotional, well-realized story about finding your voice.
The daughter of a former rock star in Los Angeles is torn between playing in a band with her sisters and her wish to sing in a choir.
At 13, Alondra Yniguez has more experience with the world of rock music than most teens. Her dad was once the frontman of the popular emo band Past Perfection, among the first all-Latino bands in the genre. He’s trained her and her younger sisters, Elisa and Gloria, in everything from piano and drums to violin and bass. Now Past Perfection is launching a reunion tour, and the girls’ band, Beyond the Valley, will be the opening act. It’s a dream come true for most kids—and it might even be enough to bring home their music publicist mother, who’s separated from their dad. But instead of sounding gritty and tough, Alondra’s voice is coming out “clear and pure.” What’s unsuitable for emo is perfect for the choir club that a classmate convinces her to join. But trying to keep the club a secret from her family, perform with Beyond the Valley, and pass the eighth grade might be too much for Alondra. Warm and funny with strong, realistic characters, Granillo’s sophomore novel explores issues including parental conflict and the representation of girls, women, and Latine people in rock. Mexican American Alondra navigates dating as someone who is asexual and “probably aromantic.”
An emotional, well-realized story about finding your voice. (discussion questions, author’s note) (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2026
ISBN: 9798765671351
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Carolrhoda
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.
Chainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.
Every four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Gradually—too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic—it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. At this point, readers are likely to feel suddenly left behind, as, thanks to summary deus ex machina resolutions, everything turns out swell(ish).
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic. (Fantasy. 11-13)Pub Date: May 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-210489-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013
BOOK TO SCREEN
Brava!
From award winner Telgemeier (Smile, 2010), a pitch-perfect graphic novel portrayal of a middle school musical, adroitly capturing the drama both on and offstage.
Seventh-grader Callie Marin is over-the-moon to be on stage crew again this year for Eucalyptus Middle School’s production of Moon over Mississippi. Callie's just getting over popular baseball jock and eighth-grader Greg, who crushed her when he left Callie to return to his girlfriend, Bonnie, the stuck-up star of the play. Callie's healing heart is quickly captured by Justin and Jesse Mendocino, the two very cute twins who are working on the play with her. Equally determined to make the best sets possible with a shoestring budget and to get one of the Mendocino boys to notice her, the immensely likable Callie will find this to be an extremely drama-filled experience indeed. The palpably engaging and whip-smart characterization ensures that the charisma and camaraderie run high among those working on the production. When Greg snubs Callie in the halls and misses her reference to Guys and Dolls, one of her friends assuredly tells her, "Don't worry, Cal. We’re the cool kids….He's the dork." With the clear, stylish art, the strongly appealing characters and just the right pinch of drama, this book will undoubtedly make readers stand up and cheer.
Brava! (Graphic fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-32698-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
SEEN & HEARD
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