A diverting, insightful portrait of surviving adolescence and relying on family.
In Wise’s YA novel, a teenager finds potential romance at a new school where he’s also victimized by bullies.
Not long after his mother dies, 15-year-old Carlton McNeil leaves his Vermont hometown to live in New York City. Things are great with his uncle Ricky, a well-known retired hockey player for the New York Finbacks, who encourages Carlton to treat his penthouse like home. However, the teen runs into trouble at school: Fellow students Chad Eldridge and Marvin Gerhardsson start bullying him almost immediately, and it becomes a daily occurrence. They’re especially brutal—a cafeteria altercation leaves Carlton with a bloody nose, for instance—but Carlton doesn’t want to transfer elsewhere, as he’s smitten with his schoolmate: a charming “Goth girl” named Emily Shelton. To connect with her, he dives deep into the Goth subculture and even pushes Ricky to date Emily’s mother, so that he’ll have more chances to talk to Emily himself. Meanwhile, Chad and Marvin don’t let up; indeed, they frighteningly pursue Carlton outside of school. Carlton can only hope that they’ll eventually grow bored and leave him alone, before things get out of hand. Wise masterfully blends young love, student conflict, and family drama in this novel. Although the accounts of the bullies’ violent assaults are painful to read, they’re happily offset by the scenes of Carlton and Emily’s developing relationship. The tale also reveals that adults can be victims of bullying, too, when Ricky, as a guest commentator on a TV sports show, gets grief from its regular panelists. The dynamic cast also includes Ricky’s instantly likable former teammate Sébastien LeFort, and a teacher, Ms. Telton, who refuses to ignore the ongoing bullying, unlike other faculty members. An overall theme of being true to oneself shines through, despite the fact that Carlton’s reason for embracing the Goth lifestyle seems a bit questionable. Still, he has realistic and believable faults; he can be a bit manipulative with adults, but he’s also smart and mature enough to acknowledge his shortcomings.
A diverting, insightful portrait of surviving adolescence and relying on family.Pub Date: July 9, 2024
ISBN: 9798989876723
Page Count: 322
Publisher: Caverly Place Publishing
Review Posted Online: July 8, 2024
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
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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