A taut thriller about a psychopath loose in the halls of a suburban high school.
There are mean girls and queen bees—and then there’s Britney Matson, who makes the rest look like hopeless amateurs.
This sophomore outing for Cooper picks up where Vanished (2015) left off: narrator Kalah Richards is convinced that Brit has gotten away with the murder of their mutual best friend, Beth, who was also involved in a budding romance with Kalah. Brit’s wealth, poise, and “blond all-American looks” have everyone fooled, but Kalah is convinced that if only she keeps a close enough watch, Brit will slip. Unfortunately Kalah struggles with anxiety as well as grief, and her emotional fragility leads even her family and former boyfriend to regard her as unstable and untrustworthy. Brit outflanks Kalah at every turn, ratcheting the tension up to nearly unbearable levels. Kalah’s ethnicity and sexual orientation are treated matter-of-factly—refreshingly not turned into causes for angst. Yet Cooper’s treatment of her protagonist’s South Asian heritage is disappointingly superficial, giving it passing mentions of curry, saris, Gandhi, and Hinduism. Kalah’s paralysis and naiveté are frustrating at times, but they fill out a sympathetic and realistic portrait of the profound impact of bullying. While the essentials of the back story are woven skillfully into this novel and it can stand alone, it will best be appreciated by those who read Vanished.
A taut thriller about a psychopath loose in the halls of a suburban high school. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 8, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-229392-3
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 25, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
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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