A strong debut written with heart and strength.
A multigenerational coming-of-age story centered around an immigrant community during the Great Depression.
The novel begins in 1933 with Mary, 16, living in a small apartment in Detroit, Michigan, with her Greek father and French mother; twin sister, Marguerite; and three younger brothers. Her father, a shop owner struggling now that no one is buying Ford motorcars, wants to arrange her marriage to a fellow immigrant, but Mary longs for modernity, a job, and some fun with dashing, blond Billy. She finds a mysterious pile of unaddressed letters dated 1918, which leads to two other stories—that of Gio, a young Greek fisherman who, through complicated circumstances, ends up enlisted in the U.S. Army, and Jeanne, a wealthy French girl who volunteers with wounded soldiers at a hospital in Brittany. Eventually the strands come together to reveal the identities of Jeanne and Gio. At times, the plot seems too convoluted—Marguerite, Mary’s twin, never feels necessary at all—and the cryptic nature of the letters makes them feel inauthentic. However, the author’s sense of history brings details of the different times and cultures to life as she tells a story inspired by her family’s history. Her free verse serves the tale well, with lines such as “Death walks the halls / naked, / without pride, asking for his mother,” to convey the youth and despair of injured young men.
A strong debut written with heart and strength. (author’s note, photographs, endnotes) (Verse novel. 12-18)Pub Date: Aug. 17, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5248-6560-3
Page Count: 576
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
This astonishing book will generate much-needed discussion.
After 15-year-old Will sees his older brother, Shawn, gunned down on the streets, he sets out to do the expected: the rules dictate no crying, no snitching, and revenge.
Though the African-American teen has never held one, Will leaves his apartment with his brother’s gun tucked in his waistband. As he travels down on the elevator, the door opens on certain floors, and Will is confronted with a different figure from his past, each a victim of gun violence, each important in his life. They also force Will to face the questions he has about his plan. As each “ghost” speaks, Will realizes how much of his own story has been unknown to him and how intricately woven they are. Told in free-verse poems, this is a raw, powerful, and emotional depiction of urban violence. The structure of the novel heightens the tension, as each stop of the elevator brings a new challenge until the narrative arrives at its taut, ambiguous ending. There is considerable symbolism, including the 15 bullets in the gun and the way the elevator rules parallel street rules. Reynolds masterfully weaves in textured glimpses of the supporting characters. Throughout, readers get a vivid picture of Will and the people in his life, all trying to cope with the circumstances of their environment while expressing the love, uncertainty, and hope that all humans share.
This astonishing book will generate much-needed discussion. (Verse fiction. 12-adult)Pub Date: Oct. 17, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-3825-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
An auspicious ending may seem a bit unlikely to some, but this novel has many appealing aspects that will draw readers in.
Fifteen-year-old Zeke gets a job and becomes involved with community organizers who aim to unionize local food-service workers in this novel in verse for reluctant readers.
Zeke hates their lives in the city with Paul, his alcoholic mom’s abusive boyfriend, a hypocritical Christian, and he misses his old home in small-town Wisconsin. Spurred to action by the idea of making enough money for them to move back, he takes a job at Casa de Pizza, where he comes to understand the desperate circumstances many of his minimum-wage–earning co-workers face. Zeke keeps the job secret, fearing Paul will try to steal his earnings. Pagelong free-verse poems evocatively describe Zeke’s experiences and quickly propel the story forward. The dynamics between the employees at Casa de Pizza (Zeke and several others are white, Timothy is black, Hannah is originally from Oaxaca) will be recognizable to teens who’ve worked in food service. Readers will easily sympathize with the all-too-true-to-life situations with which the characters are coping—racism and sexual harassment, Zeke’s awful home life, and a co-worker’s eviction with her children among them. Though short, this story develops the characters’ personalities, sketches in the history of the labor movement, and includes a subdued romantic subplot, effectively balancing these various elements.
An auspicious ending may seem a bit unlikely to some, but this novel has many appealing aspects that will draw readers in. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5383-8260-8
Page Count: 202
Publisher: West 44 Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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