Come for the romance; stay for the artistry.
Two teens in love experience a shocking event in this deeply felt novel.
Lexie Weiss-Greenberg escapes an overburdened past when she drives across the country from Los Angeles with her mother and 8-year-old sister, Orly, to the small town of Covington to live with her Aunt Ida and start afresh. Covington is known for its healing natural hot springs, the pools. Lexie hopes that they’ll help her mother, who’s incapacitated by chronic pain and depression. This suspenseful story unfolds seamlessly in a variety of poetic forms and is laced with foreboding and heart. As summer begins, Lexie has a boyfriend: olive-skinned 17-year-old Chester Allegheny, who’s on the high school swim team. Chester may be Christian and come from money, but he appreciates Lexie’s financially struggling Jewish family. Then one winter day a horrifying, fantastical event occurs at the pools; the rest of the book is about how the townspeople deal with the aftermath. Ever-responsible Lexie sets out to find a solution—but the clock is ticking. The book explores themes including sacrifice, secrets, loss, care for others, self-worth, and the different ways people manage depression. Reminiscent of Michael Grant’s Gone (2008) and other stories of teen resourcefulness in the face of disaster, this book also brings fresh insights to the Brothers Grimm folktale it references. The cinematic, poetic writing features scenes of heartbreak, horror, and devotion, culminating in a gorgeous Technicolor finale.
Come for the romance; stay for the artistry. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9780593904121
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
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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