Pippa’s fresh, up-to-date voice is muted by her misery, making for gray-tone images rather than the dynamism of color.
Pippa Greene is back in her hometown trying to sort out her confusing relationship with Dylan.
He was mostly out of sight in Depth of Field (2014), probably not a bad place for him. He’s taking a gap year before attending college; Pippa’s still in high school. The main reason for Dylan’s year off is that he’s just finished cancer therapy, a secret he’s shared with Pippa but few others. Meanwhile, he’s active with traveling rock bands and may be forming a romantic connection to fellow rocker Muse. Pippa is frustratingly slow to understand what readers will recognize immediately: Dylan has lost interest in her. Supported by her best friend, Dace, and fellow photographer Ben, distracted by sorting through the photographs taken by her recently deceased father, and at odds with her concerned mother, Pippa just barely muddles along. By the end, it’s clear that Ben harbors romantic feelings for her, surely setting up another emotional roller coaster in a coming volume. Lacking the inside look at the photography world that enlivened the previous outing—although Pippa keeps camera in hand here, too—romance is required to carry the full load of the plot. But Dylan is disappointing, and there isn’t enough of the promising Ben.
Pippa’s fresh, up-to-date voice is muted by her misery, making for gray-tone images rather than the dynamism of color. (Fiction. 11-18)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-77041-232-3
Page Count: 200
Publisher: ECW Press
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
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
Exactly what the title promises.
A grieving teen’s devotion to romance films might ruin her chances at actual romance.
Liz Buxbaum has always adored rom-coms, not least for helping her still feel close to her screenwriter mother, who died when she was little. Liz hopes that her senior year might turn into a real-life romantic fantasy, as an old crush has moved back to town, cuter and nicer than ever. Surely she can get Michael to ask her to prom. If only Wes, the annoying boy next door, would help her with her scheming! This charming, fluffy concoction manages to pack into one goofy plot every conceivable trope, from fake dating to the makeover to the big misunderstanding. Creative, quirky, daydreaming Liz is just shy of an annoying stereotype, saved by a dry wit and unresolved grief and anger. Wes makes for a delightful bad boy with a good heart, and supporting characters—including a sassy best friend, a perfect popular rival, even a (not really) evil stepmother—all get the opportunity to transcend their roles. The only villain here is Liz’s lovelorn imagination, provoking her into foolish lies that cause actual hurt feelings; but she is sufficiently self-aware to make amends just in time for the most important trope of all: a blissfully happy ending. All characters seem to be White by default.
Exactly what the title promises. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6762-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK TO SCREEN
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