Say oui to this thoughtful and intelligent story of outsiders rising up.
A gloriously feminist, fat-positive romp translated from the French.
After school bullies name them the gold, silver, and bronze winners respectively in the annual Pig Pageant on social media, Astrid Blomvall, Hakima Idriss, and Mireille Laplanche are battered but unbowed. The three girls concoct a plan to cycle to Paris in time for the Bastille Day celebration, where each will fulfill a personal dream. Mireille is eager to meet her biological father, a philosophy professor who is married to the French president and does not know she exists. Hakima, whose brother, Kader, lost his legs fighting for France in a desert war and who serves as the girls’ chaperone on their weeklong journey, would like to confront the general who has not given him credit for his brave sacrifice. Astrid, meanwhile, would like to meet Indochine, her favorite band, who will be performing at the garden party and whose music has given her the strength to persevere in the face of hardship. The four misfits become national celebrities as France rallies around their cause. Respecting the ability of teen readers to interpret challenging material without having lessons spelled out for them, the work is a mixture of righteous fury and light, witty banter. Addressing racism (the Idriss family are Muslim immigrants), misogyny, and fat-phobia, the story is a refreshing and empowering coming-of-age tale.
Say oui to this thoughtful and intelligent story of outsiders rising up. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Aug. 8, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-78269-120-4
Page Count: 289
Publisher: Pushkin Children’s Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2019
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
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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