Strongly paced and emotionally resonant.
Following the Nazi invasion of Poland, a young pilot and a Jewish child escape on a journey across Europe.
In 1939, as World War II looms, 18-year-old twins Leopold and Kristina Tomiak serve as flight instructors at the Vistula Aeroclub near Warsaw. Kristina is selected to be a liaison pilot in the Polish Air Force Reserve, transporting people and messages and taking aerial photos. Sunny, positive Leopold’s turn will come later. When the nearby village of Birky goes up in flames just a couple of weeks after the Nazi invasion, everyone knows the airfield is in imminent danger. Leopold takes down a Nazi plane, and a German officer brutally shoots him in front of Kristina and the others at the captured aeroclub. But Kristina manages to take a small plane, where she discovers Julian, an 11-year-old stowaway, hiding in the rear cockpit. The little boy’s parents were murdered by the Nazis, and the grieving but determined pair flee across the continent, encountering both the best and worst of humanity. This slim, gripping, and tightly woven novel effectively introduces characters who are full of heart and resilience. Written and formatted to be accessible to readers with learning differences, this fast-moving and compelling story will draw in both reluctant readers and others who enjoy historical fiction, especially those who appreciate a focus on personal heroism in the face of war’s brutality.
Strongly paced and emotionally resonant. (map, author’s note) (Historical fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9781454962748
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Union Square & Co.
Review Posted Online: July 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
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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