An intriguing modern morality tale with allusions to Pinocchio and The Velveteen Rabbit in what it means to be real.
Online you can be anyone.
For Maisie Fernandez, a chance to be someone else quickly gets out of hand. Maisie is an artistic sophomore in Fort Collins, Colorado. At school she feels invisible, trying to blend in and avoid taking up space because of her weight. When she is assigned to be lab partners with her former bully, she snaps and takes revenge by catfishing her nemesis. Two major problems immediately present themselves. To create her alter ego, Sienna, Maisie uses images of a girl she discovers through the social media profile of a family friend, a girl whose family is considering relocating to Fort Collins. The resulting close scrapes between the real and online worlds drive the tension. Through her deceptive online conversations with her popular classmates, Maisie also discovers depths she had not imagined them capable of in her previous two-dimensional conceptions of them. At its core, the book grapples effectively with what it means to be real and how online interactions can both illuminate and obfuscate the humanity in others. Maisie learns a hard lesson about authenticity and objectification but emerges to find compassion from unexpected friends, vowing to pass it on to others and herself. Maisie is half Filipina and half white, and her classmates appear to be a fairly diverse lot.
An intriguing modern morality tale with allusions to Pinocchio and The Velveteen Rabbit in what it means to be real. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-23949-2
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Point/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
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
A book that seamlessly brings readers along on a journey of impact and empowerment.
A manifesto for budding feminists.
At the core of this engaging novel are besties Chelsea, who is Irish- and Italian-American and into fashion and beauty, and Jasmine, who is African-American, loves the theater, and pushes back against bias around size (“I don’t need your fake compliments, your pity. I know I’m beautiful. Inside and out”). They and their sidekicks, half-Japanese/half-Lebanese Nadine and Puerto Rican Isaac, grow into first-class activists—simultaneously educating their peers and readers. The year gets off to a rocky start at their progressive, social justice–oriented New York City high school: Along with the usual angst many students experience, Jasmine’s father is terminally ill with cancer, and after things go badly in both their clubs, Jasmine and Chelsea form a women’s rights club which becomes the catalyst for their growth as they explore gender inequality and opportunities for change. This is an inspiring look at two strong-willed teens growing into even stronger young women ready to use their voices and take on the world, imploring budding feminists everywhere to “join the revolution.” The book offers a poetic balance of dialogue among the main characters, their peers, and the adults in their lives. The exquisite pacing, which intersperses everyday teen conflicts with weightier issues, demonstrates how teens long to be heard and taken seriously.
A book that seamlessly brings readers along on a journey of impact and empowerment. (resources for young activists, endnotes) (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Feb. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0008-3
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2019
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