In the words of the Bard himself, most wonderful.
Give her your hands, if you be friends; and Alison shall restore amends.
Alison Green has a mission. She intends to graduate as valedictorian and will do whatever it takes to get there. When a teacher asks her to help produce the school’s spring play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, she jumps on the opportunity, thinking it’ll help boost her scholarship applications. But she quickly finds herself overwhelmed by the challenges of producing “Ye Olde Shakespearean Disaster,” from uncompromising artistic egos to funding troubles to relational tangles and triangles that seem pulled directly from the pages of the script. And if that weren’t enough, she still needs to make valedictorian. Any reader who has ever struggled with overcommitment will recognize quirky, quiet Alison’s struggle to keep her newly hectic life in check. The constant balancing act between a need for assertiveness and the drive to please everyone provokes responses—and sometimes negative consequences—that feel keenly relatable. Alison’s first-person narration is pensive and raw, capturing well the circuitous, flighty nature of her anxious thought process. Her flickering confidence and glee over small victories imbue the pages with warmth, making the pain of setbacks and new complications all the more poignant. Jansen crafts a tale both modern and timeless, exploring as it does sexuality, friendship, family relations, and trust. Alison is White and lesbian; there is diversity in supporting characters.
In the words of the Bard himself, most wonderful. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-77260-121-3
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Second Story Press
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
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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