There’s a warm family story amid the didacticism, but the sense that autism must be constantly explained and justified to...
Australian twins Perry, who has a brain condition, and Justine, who is his full-time caregiver, travel together to Vancouver.
Justine and Perry’s mother left when the two were children, and their father died of cancer just before they turned 18. For two years, Justine has served as Perry’s sole caregiver, but after the trip, Perry will move into Fair Go, a residential facility their father chose before his death. Justine and Perry narrate alternating sections, interspersed with short passages from their father’s journal. Between the journal entries, which recount moments from the twins’ childhood, and the canned spiel Justine gives strangers to explain Perry’s “inappropriate” behavior, a large part of the aim here seems to be introducing neurotypical readers to Perry’s condition. The story unfolds with intimacy and affection, shown through the twins’ special nicknames for each other and each sibling’s desire to do right by the other. Perry’s attempts to follow social rules and his enthusiasm for his interests—Jackie Chan, seismology, mythical monsters—are clear in the sections he narrates, but how he feels about essentially being apologized for every time Justine gives her spiel is unfortunately never explored.
There’s a warm family story amid the didacticism, but the sense that autism must be constantly explained and justified to outsiders is discomfiting. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4598-1079-2
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: May 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
A troubling depiction of an unhealthy relationship.
A battered girl and an injured rugby star spark up an ill-advised romance at an Irish secondary school.
Beautiful, waiflike, 15-year-old Shannon has lived her entire life in Ballylaggin. Alternately bullied at school and beaten by her ne’er-do-well father, she’s hopeful for a fresh start at Tommen, a private school. Seventeen-year-old Johnny, who has a hair-trigger temper and a severe groin injury, is used to Dublin’s elite-level rugby but, since his family’s move to County Cork, is now stuck captaining Tommen’s middling team. When Johnny angrily kicks a ball and knocks Shannon unconscious (“a soft female groan came from her lips”), a tentative relationship is born. As the two grow closer, Johnny’s past and Shannon’s present become serious obstacles to their budding love, threatening Shannon’s safety. Shannon’s portrayal feels infantilized (“I looked down at the tiny little female under my arm”), while Johnny comes across as borderline obsessive (“I knew I shouldn’t be touching her, but how the hell could I not?”). Uneven pacing and choppy sentences lead to a sudden climax and an unsatisfyingly abrupt ending. Repetitive descriptions, abundant and misogynistic dialogue (Johnny, to his best friend: “who’s the bitch with a vagina now?”), and graphic violence also weigh down this lengthy tome (considerably trimmed down from its original, self-published length). The cast of lively, well-developed supporting characters, especially Johnny’s best friend and Shannon’s protective older brother, is a bright spot. Major characters read white.
A troubling depiction of an unhealthy relationship. (author’s note, pronunciations, glossary, song moments, playlists) (Romance. 16-18)Pub Date: Nov. 28, 2023
ISBN: 9781728299945
Page Count: 626
Publisher: Bloom Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
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
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