Fresh and witty on the surface, tender and heartfelt at its core.
A devoted teen leads her friends on a queer pilgrimage to a celebrity event (OK—more like a post-prom road trip to a YouTuber meet and greet).
Snarky, “chaotically bisexual” Amelia Applebaum has harbored a longtime parasocial obsession with recently-gone-viral YouTuber Walter Holland. Sure, he’s a total stranger, but he’s personally responded to her social media comments not once, but twice! As senior year comes to an end, Amelia drags her three best friends—Zora and twins Natalie and Mark—to a college campus in upstate New York, several hours’ drive away from their home in Westchester, for an in-person event with Walter. Anxious about change, Amelia feels that this is an important swan song for her and her close-knit friend group before they leave for college in the fall. Amelia never expected that by showing up and meeting Walter in person, they’d end up roping him into their adventure, transforming him from unattainable crush to genuine friend. Meanwhile, her feelings for Natalie seem to be developing into something more. Albertalli creates a realistic microcosm of queer and Jewish teen culture with no shortage of her signature humor and clever snark (Amelia and Walter are white and Jewish, the Jewish twins have a Chinese dad and are implied biracial, and Zora, “the group’s token gentile,” is cued Black). The friends’ banter is warm, endearing, and relatable.
Fresh and witty on the surface, tender and heartfelt at its core. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 10, 2025
ISBN: 9780063045927
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
PERSPECTIVES
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
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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