Little enjoyment stems from witnessing the manipulation and bad decisions of these wishy-washy characters.
Lorna led her friendship quartet, so her death leaves her friends both grief-stricken and lacking independent identities.
Lorna’s bossy personality united mousy Jackie, rich-boy Finn, and utterly forgettable Lucas in elementary school. Adolescent sexual tension changed the group dynamics as Lorna and Finn fell in love, and predictably Jackie yearned for Finn while Lucas was besotted with Lorna. These existing fault lines grow after typically sure-footed Lorna tumbles into rough seas and presumably drowns. Then Lucas mysteriously leaves town, and Jackie and Finn find themselves growing closer—though he rejects her awkward romantic advances. Embarrassed, Jackie finds solace in the inappropriate attentions of a 30-year-old visiting artist, Cooper, whom readers will instantly identify as a sexual predator. Meanwhile, Jackie makes a disturbing discovery, and Lucas returns to share a dark secret, helping readers realize much more quickly than the dense trio that all may not be as it seems. What should be an unexpected twist is neither stunning nor believable, though the depth of the emotional manipulation behind it is surprising. Adding to the novel’s overall unpleasantness is the sexual-predator storyline, which resolves with a whimper rather than the bang it deserves.
Little enjoyment stems from witnessing the manipulation and bad decisions of these wishy-washy characters. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 15, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4405-8900-3
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Merit Press
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense.
Everyone believes that Salil Singh killed his girlfriend, Andrea Bell, five years ago—except Pippa Fitz-Amobi.
Pip has known and liked Sal since childhood; he’d supported her when she was being bullied in middle school. For her senior capstone project, Pip researches the disappearance of former Fairview High student Andie, last seen on April 18, 2014, by her younger sister, Becca. The original investigation concluded with most of the evidence pointing to Sal, who was found dead in the woods, apparently by suicide. Andie’s body was never recovered, and Sal was assumed by most to be guilty of abduction and murder. Unable to ignore the gaps in the case, Pip sets out to prove Sal’s innocence, beginning with interviewing his younger brother, Ravi. With his help, Pip digs deeper, unveiling unsavory facts about Andie and the real reason Sal’s friends couldn’t provide him with an alibi. But someone is watching, and Pip may be in more danger than she realizes. Pip’s sleuthing is both impressive and accessible. Online articles about the case and interview transcripts are provided throughout, and Pip’s capstone logs offer insights into her thought processes as new evidence and suspects arise. Jackson’s debut is well-executed and surprises readers with a connective web of interesting characters and motives. Pip and Andie are white, and Sal is of Indian descent.
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-9636-0
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
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
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