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WITH AND WITHOUT YOU

A well-intentioned misfire.

Siena and Patrick have been together so long their friends regard them as a single unit.

As they head toward senior year, Siena feels trapped and decides to break up with Patrick during their weekly coffee date. But Patrick has his own shocking development to reveal: His family is moving from Phoenix to Austin. Thrown off guard, Siena takes Patrick up on his offer to try the long-distance thing, presuming the relationship will fizzle out and she won’t have to be the heartbreaker after all. As the school year unfolds, the two exchange texts, schedule holiday visits, and create new social circles. The relationship Siena once saw as stale expands as well, giving her a lot to ponder as college looms. Told from Siena’s point of view, the novel takes a while to really start humming. Siena’s complaints about the perfectly decent Patrick grow tiresome; readers may check out before the worm turns and the authors start flipping new cards. Once things get going, the novel becomes a reasonably well-sketched rendering of young love evolving, but there’s a lot of padding to get through first. The pacing and character shading are the novel’s weakest points: Patrick never really pops as a real person, and Siena, desperate to figure out her new identity, comes off as whiny. She ultimately settles on a new pursuit that feels like it comes out of the blue rather than organically emerging from her personality. Siena and Patrick are presumed White.

A well-intentioned misfire. (Romance. 14-18)

Pub Date: April 19, 2022

ISBN: 978-0-593-32687-9

Page Count: 384

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: Jan. 10, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2022

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INDIVISIBLE

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

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IF HE HAD BEEN WITH ME

There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.

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The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.

Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.

There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.   (Fiction. 14 & up)

Pub Date: April 1, 2013

ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5

Page Count: 336

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013

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