by Blake Nelson ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 6, 2017
The bildungsroman never goes out of style, and Nelson still executes it well, if predictably.
An affluent white teenage boy begins to question his place in his peer group after an odd new girl challenges his assumptions.
Sophomore Gavin Meeks is “one of the popular kids” at Evergreen High School in Portland, Oregon. His hobbies and dating choices are mostly based on his friends’ opinions and his family’s wealth. Everything changes when he meets Antoinette Renwick, a white girl who smokes, “dresses like a freak,” and had a brother who committed suicide. At first, Gavin can’t imagine being friends with her. But once he spends more time with Antoinette, he realizes that she “wasn’t just some pissed-off teenager. She had a plan…and the rest of it: high school, social life, teachers, parents…it was just noise to her.” Antoinette is the catalyst that initiates Gavin’s transformation from privileged tennis player to thoughtful photographer. Gavin knows he’s in love. But can Antoinette ever be in love with someone like him? Nelson returns to his now-familiar, linear plot of a clueless suburban teen awakening to the world’s complications under the influence of a quirky outsider. While references to Facebook may seem dated, Nelson gives a nod to the current cultural context when Gavin tries to photograph an angry protest that erupts as a result of a police shooting of an African-American teenager.
The bildungsroman never goes out of style, and Nelson still executes it well, if predictably. (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: June 6, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-8813-6
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
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by Holly Jackson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 4, 2020
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense.
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New York Times Bestseller
Everyone believes that Salil Singh killed his girlfriend, Andrea Bell, five years ago—except Pippa Fitz-Amobi.
Pip has known and liked Sal since childhood; he’d supported her when she was being bullied in middle school. For her senior capstone project, Pip researches the disappearance of former Fairview High student Andie, last seen on April 18, 2014, by her younger sister, Becca. The original investigation concluded with most of the evidence pointing to Sal, who was found dead in the woods, apparently by suicide. Andie’s body was never recovered, and Sal was assumed by most to be guilty of abduction and murder. Unable to ignore the gaps in the case, Pip sets out to prove Sal’s innocence, beginning with interviewing his younger brother, Ravi. With his help, Pip digs deeper, unveiling unsavory facts about Andie and the real reason Sal’s friends couldn’t provide him with an alibi. But someone is watching, and Pip may be in more danger than she realizes. Pip’s sleuthing is both impressive and accessible. Online articles about the case and interview transcripts are provided throughout, and Pip’s capstone logs offer insights into her thought processes as new evidence and suspects arise. Jackson’s debut is well-executed and surprises readers with a connective web of interesting characters and motives. Pip and Andie are white, and Sal is of Indian descent.
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-9636-0
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
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BOOK TO SCREEN
by Daniel Aleman ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 4, 2021
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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