Evocative and realistic; captures the tangled feelings of young love and lust.
In this entry in Amman’s The Italian Saga, a teen’s search for her place in the world is complicated by sexual relationships as she approaches her last year of school.
Leda Balni celebrates her 15th birthday with the charismatic but thuggish Nico Salisi; now dating, they’ve come a long way since their combative relationship as children, but they’re still not quite synced. Nico, unlike Leda, has zero interest in books, philosophy, or emotional conversations. Instead, he’s consumed by lust, while Leda is sexually curious but unready—their union’s end is painful and abrupt. Nearly two years later, misfit Leda, who wears a leather fedora and loves Pink Floyd, makes another attempt at romance. College student Big Ange, “the God of Setters” on the volleyball team, is handsome, popular, and unexpectedly interested in her. Problems arise: Ange, worried about tough engineering exams, is emotionally distant, and sex again becomes an issue. At home, Leda continues to feud with her sister and grandmother whenever they visit, but she wins approval from her judgmental mother, Starry, for losing 12 kilograms by only eating things like undressed salads and apples. As usual, Leda tries to figure things out alone, but because she’s older now, her actions feel more consequential; she worries that poor decision-making could result in a life-changing mistake. Amman keeps her protagonist slowly edging toward maturity in an often imbalanced world. Once fierce, Leda now reflects, “Girls didn’t win. Gracious girls didn’t even compete.” Still, she shows sparks of rebellion when with her mother and boyfriends, and also discovers her writing ability. Big Ange’s depths are also plumbed; he’s often clueless and not the brightest bulb, but he’s sometimes kind, made insecure by patriarchy and religion in a way that’s different from Leda. The sex scenes, relatable and unidealized, add suspense—the bulge in Nico’s pants that once seemed mystifying acquires menace, and Leda and Ange never know how far their “well-practiced make-out dance” will progress. Leda’s surroundings provide an additional dimension—visiting the ocean in France’s beautiful La Londe-les-Maures with Ange and other friends sparks Leda’s realization that she feels lonelier than ever before.
Evocative and realistic; captures the tangled feelings of young love and lust.Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2026
ISBN: 9781971429113
Page Count: 246
Publisher: Kuki Publishing
Review Posted Online: Aug. 7, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
Disappointing.
Unlikely friends fight their growing feelings for each other while placing bets on other people’s love lives.
Bailey met Charlie while flying from Alaska, where she grew up, to Nebraska, where she and her mom would be living after her parents’ divorce. Although they briefly bonded over their parents’ divorces, Charlie’s cynicism grated on the rule-following Bailey, and she was thankful to part ways with him. Three years later, to Bailey’s dismay, she runs into Charlie when they both land jobs at Planet Funnn, a mega-hotel that’s “like a giant landlocked cruise ship.” This time around, Bailey and Charlie begin to get along better. To entertain themselves during their long shifts, they observe and make bets about the hotel guests. But they risk taking it too far when they bet on whether their co-worker Theo will end up with Nekesa, Bailey’s best friend, who’s in “a perfect relationship with the perfect guy.” The book explores Bailey’s conflicted feelings toward her mom’s new relationship with Scott (who doesn’t “do anything wrong” but whose presence changes “the vibe” at home), but it does so in a way that diminishes a primary source of conflict. Bailey's and Charlie’s feelings become even more complicated when Charlie helps Bailey with a fake-dating scheme intended to scare Scott off. Some of the banter between the leads, who are coded white, feels more aggressive than playful, detracting from their intimacy, and the circuitous plot may fail to sustain readers’ interest.
Disappointing. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 28, 2023
ISBN: 9781665921237
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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