An interesting look at the many forms activism can take.
An African American teen finds the courage to step into the spotlight and fight for her dreams despite divided loyalties.
Aspiring Broadway dancer Capri Collins longs to attend an exclusive performing arts camp but lacks the courage to oppose her grandmother, who wants her to stay close to home. Capri finds support in her relationship with Zach Whitman, a White boy from Philadelphia who has moved to the town on the other side of the train tracks. He’s shocked by his new White peers’ overt racism. Bayside and Hamilton, located outside New York City, have intertwined histories: With the influx of African American families from the South, Bayside’s White residents established Hamilton to maintain racial segregation. Zach’s love for jazz brings him to Hamilton, where he meets Capri. Meanwhile Capri’s older brother, Justin, aims to attend college on a basketball scholarship, an ambition complicated by his girlfriend’s pregnancy. The siblings’ fears of being trapped in their hometown are heightened when their friend Tyree Thompson, an aspiring doctor on his way to New York University, is killed by a Bayside police officer. The aftershocks ripple through the relationships of residents of both towns. The narrative alternates among the first-person perspectives of Capri, Justin, and Zach. The siblings’ complex relationship is a particular strength. Interracial tension is a main driving force within the narrative, but Zach’s role in this conflict is less well developed.
An interesting look at the many forms activism can take. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 22, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5344-9771-9
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Denene Millner Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2022
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
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
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
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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