A spirited YA novel with an inspiring arc.
A track star fights to recover from paralysis in Francis’ debut YA sports novel.
Cat Morgan has a life any high school junior would be grateful for: she’s the star of her school’s track team and bound for the state championships; she’s got three best friends who meet for dinner and movies every Tuesday night; and there’s even a new boy at school, Tristan, who might be cute enough to get Cat over the lingering attraction she feels for her old crush. Everything is looking up when, out of nowhere, Cat’s body fails her at practice; she experiences weak limbs, slurred speech, a pounding headache, and then—blackness. Cat has suffered a brain aneurysm, one that lands her in a coma. The novel follows the shockwaves that Cat’s illness sends through her community until she finally wakes up. At least, half of her does—the entire right side of Cat’s body is paralyzed. “I’m panicking and try to move my left leg,” she narrates, “and I can, yes I can, but my right leg will not kick, and my right arm will not punch, and I want to scream.” Though doctors offer no guarantees, Cat resolves to get back everything she had before her attack. Readers will be invested in the relatable Cat’s plight—are her dreams of track stardom, college success, and Tristan mere fantasies now? Francis deftly captures Cat’s internal struggle as she claws her way back to health: “I don’t try to breathe in through my nose: this ship has sailed. Staring at the flooring, I attempt to close my eyes, but I’m uneven and need to find my balance. Finally, I find composure and rise straight.” It’s an inspiring tale, due in large part to the supporting cast of characters who complicate her journey.
A spirited YA novel with an inspiring arc.Pub Date: Aug. 12, 2021
ISBN: 9798536288641
Page Count: 328
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: March 4, 2025
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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