A diverting and sometimes-profound novel of teamwork and perseverance.
In Cloudwatcher’s YA novel, a group of teenage boys make an arduous trek across the desert, led by a young man with a secret mission.
Seventeen-year-old Hugumki will someday be chief of a Hohokam village in the Sonoran Desert, in what is now Arizona. First, he’ll lead a group of nine fellow teenagers on a challenge that will turn the so-called “wild boys” into men. They’ll traverse a desert with unpredictable terrain, including mountains, plateaus, mesas, and buttes. Only Hugumki knows that the journey’s other purpose is to find the magical singing stones, which may be able to save the villagers’ crops after an especially bad harvest. The 10 boys have a range of skills and personalities, from tiny, inquisitive Bird to Ah Ki Wami, who’s known in the village for his furious anger. They travel for many days under Father Sun’s relentless heat and must conserve the water they carry in deer bladders. There are all sorts of creatures they’ll likely encounter, not the least of which is a “mountain cat the size of a small bear.” Cloudwatcher’s taut story, despite all the peril the boys face, is spirited and uplifting in tone. Hugumki, the other teens, and even a dog who joins them on their quest are all likable characters, and it’s encouraging to watch the boys confront fears, overcome uncertainties, and realize that adulthood means they’ll have to mature and forgo “childish games.” (The latter is particularly relevant to the four youngest boys, which the narrative often groups together.) Hugumki doubts his leadership abilities, but his responsibility is great, as the test will be a failure if even one participant returns to the village hurt. The author’s depiction of the vibrant but perilous environment is sharp, such as when “the sky explodes into all the colors that pink has in its palette,” and when the group hears frightening sounds in the nighttime desert, including countless noises from animals they can’t see.
A diverting and sometimes-profound novel of teamwork and perseverance.Pub Date: March 15, 2024
ISBN: 9798876550187
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Oct. 29, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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