A powerful coming-of-age story about growing in faith and self-awareness.
Two teens questioning their faith find love together.
Meg was supposed to go to a summer church camp to start off her gap year but decides instead to spend time with her newfound biological family in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Her life was turned upside down after accidentally discovering that her strict, controlling Christian mom actually got pregnant with her following a one-night stand at a church youth group event and then hid the identity of her biological father, who died before learning she was pregnant, for 18 years. While visiting her paternal great-grandmother and uncle, she meets a boy called Micah who has his own issues with faith after his pastor father engaged in sexual misconduct and then went to prison for embezzling church funds. While Meg and Micah fall for each other, a sweet dog, a high-stakes rescue, and exploration of complicated family relationships complement their emotional journey. Alternating chapters showing Meg’s and Micah’s perspectives provide a close look at their views on faith and relationships with God. The characters affirm a belief in God and love of Jesus as the nuanced narrative includes their frank questioning of their religious communities’ treatment of the vulnerable and stances on modesty and purity culture, abstinence education, and homosexuality. Readers of Hahn’s More Than Maybe (2020) will remember Meg as a secondary character, but this work stands alone. Main characters are White.
A powerful coming-of-age story about growing in faith and self-awareness. (author's note) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-76124-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
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
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters.
When star hockey player Alec Barczewski’s estranged childhood friend, Dani Collins, moves to town, they end up in a mutually beneficial fake-dating relationship that reignites old feelings.
Following her parents’ divorce, Dani and her mom move in with Dani’s hockey legend grandfather in Southview, Minnesota, where she spent a month every summer as a child and where her friendship with Alec grew. Between visits, the two were pen pals, but they eventually fell out of touch. Despite some tensions over their loss of friendship, the high school seniors reconnect. Desperate to get off Harvard’s waitlist, Dani needs another extracurricular activity, while Alec—whose reputation took a hit when a photo of him holding a bong appeared on social media—is eager to improve his tarnished image for NHL scouts. The pair strike a deal: They’ll fake date, making Alec look like a stable guy whose academically gifted girlfriend is related to hockey royalty, and in exchange, he’ll get Dani a team manager position that will catch the eye of Harvard’s admissions officers. Eventually, complicated feelings about their past, stressful family relationships, and their brewing romance boil over. Romance fans will love the deliciously tension-filled scenes between Alec and Dani, who are believable friends with heavy demands weighing on them. They feel like real teenagers, and readers will enjoy rooting for them as the well-paced story unfolds. Main characters present white.
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781665921268
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
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