A compelling exploration of art, identity, and falling in love.
A 16-year-old classical pianist receives mysterious notes warning her not to idolize her school’s new music teacher.
Inspired by the author’s experiences at the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, this coming-of-age story is set at a prestigious boarding school full of talented musicians, dancers, artists, and actors. In the fall of her junior year, Chinese American Claire Wu is immediately awed when glamorous and accomplished Taiwanese pianist Dr. Tina Li joins the faculty. Claire has never had an Asian teacher before, and she’s determined to impress the demanding, Juilliard-trained Dr. Li, who believes piano should be the students’ sole focus. Soon, Claire begins to receive handwritten notes encouraging her not to fall under Li’s spell, a sentiment with which her best friend, Jenny Stone, and crush, Rocky Wong, both fellow pianists, agree. The notes, while nonthreatening, are invasive and borderline stalkerish. When she’s not consumed with the mystery of the unwanted notes, Claire dedicates herself to perfecting her piano repertoire and falling for the brilliant and rebellious Rocky, a senior and a member of the exclusive Asian Student Society, which she hopes to join. Debut author Con Morse sensitively captures the emotional, physical, and mental health challenges of elite young artists, particularly classical musicians, as well as the complexities of being among the few Asians in a predominantly white space. (This review was updated for factual accuracy.)
A compelling exploration of art, identity, and falling in love. (content note, playlist) (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: April 30, 2024
ISBN: 9780593711385
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 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
BOOK REVIEW
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression.
After surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself.
Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself; her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out; her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply; and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. After spending time in treatment with other young women like her—who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves—Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she "like-likes" but who had pined for Ellis instead. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends. Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a "semifamous" local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. Through intense, diarylike chapters chronicling Charlie's journey, the author captures the brutal and heartbreaking way "girls who write their pain on their bodies" scar and mar themselves, either succumbing or surviving. Like most issue books, this is not an easy read, but it's poignant and transcendent as Charlie breaks more and more before piecing herself back together.
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-93471-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
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