The lives and friendships of a group of teenage boys in a small town in upstate New York anchors this offering—more coming- of-age tale than the mystery it purports to be—by Hayes (No Effect, 1993, etc.). Gabe Riley and his friend Bo are classified Gifted and Talented by their high school, but they prefer filming their own amateur sci-fi epics (e.g., Rogue Nun) to doing homework. While Gabe and his younger brother, Ethan, live in a nice house and stuff themselves on yuppie chow, they also keep an eye on their alcoholic father, a passionate lawyer who falls off the wagon on a regular basis with charming abandon. His wife has left him, but Mr. Riley is no bitter drunk; he's an expressive, doting father, and a caring member of the community. When a neighbor, Mr. Lindstrom, suffers a stroke, Mr. Riley looks after his friend's affairs, while the boys clean his home. Clothes and food disappear and lights turn on in the empty Lindstrom house, but it's no ghost; the intruder is Lindstrom's estranged grandson. Hayes is at his best showing the boys together, teasing and tussling with each other, and in the heartwarming, affirming moments between Mr. Riley and his cherished sons. The mystery is tepid, but the warmth and humor of the characters deserve readers' rapt attention. (Fiction. 12+)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-689-80372-9
Page Count: 203
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1996
Ali, 15 going on 16, lives in Bed-Stuy with his mom, a social worker, and his little sister, Jazz, who has a knack for...
A literary story of growing up in Brooklyn.
Ali, 15 going on 16, lives in Bed-Stuy with his mom, a social worker, and his little sister, Jazz, who has a knack for markers. He hangs out on the stoop with his two BFFs, brothers nicknamed by his sister: Noodles and Needles. Needles, the older, suffers from Tourette’s syndrome, and Noodles and Ali look out for him. In the lead plotline, the three boys crash an illegal party in the basement of a nearby brownstone and then deal with the fallout. Action notwithstanding, the story actually reads more like a character study of Ali and his sister and friends and a tender homage to this seemingly dangerous neighborhood. Even though Reynolds thoughtfully (and most likely truthfully) depicts the neighborhood as one where guns and drug transactions are seen regularly, readers don’t necessarily feel the danger due to the tender and deeply protective relationships of the characters, who are realistically if not exquisitely drawn. The plot, though compelling, takes back seat to them, and what unfolds is a moving and thought-provoking study of the connectivity among a family and friends that plays upon and defies readers’ expectations. An author worth watching. (Fiction. 12 & up) .Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-5947-2
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Oct. 19, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A deeply moving account of love in its many forms.
A senior contends with first love and heartache in this spectacular debut.
Sensitive, smart Frank Li is under a lot of pressure. His Korean immigrant parents have toiled ceaselessly, running a convenience store in a mostly black and Latinx Southern California neighborhood, for their children’s futures. Frank’s older sister fulfilled their parents’ dreams—making it to Harvard—but when she married a black man, she was disowned. So when Frank falls in love with a white classmate, he concocts a scheme with Joy, the daughter of Korean American family friends, who is secretly seeing a Chinese American boy: Frank and Joy pretend to fall for each other while secretly sneaking around with their real dates. Through rich and complex characterization that rings completely true, the story highlights divisions within the Korean immigrant community and between communities of color in the U.S., cultural rifts separating immigrant parents and American-born teens, and the impact on high school peers of society’s entrenched biases. Yoon’s light hand with dialogue and deft use of illustrative anecdotes produce a story that illuminates weighty issues by putting a compassionate human face on struggles both universal and particular to certain identities. Frank’s best friend is black and his white girlfriend’s parents are vocal liberals; Yoon’s unpacking of the complexity of the racial dynamics at play is impressive—and notably, the novel succeeds equally well as pure romance.
A deeply moving account of love in its many forms. (Fiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-984812-20-9
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
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