It's a common story: a family abandons a farm whose crops no longer sustain them, only to discover that the city offers even less hope. Mehmet's feckless father leads his big extended family to Ankara, but the new life is bitter. Wealthy Uncle Yusuf's ``help'' means exploiting his relatives as landlord and employer; his wife is a mean gossip, their son a pampered, vicious sneak. Mehmet makes friends with illiterate, streetwise Muhlis, a talented artist; he also seeks out his best friend from home, whose parents had brought him to Ankhara for better schooling. But the brilliant Hayri, suddenly orphaned, is now starving and demented; Mehmet gets him to a wealthy woman who kindly takes him in, but, ironically, Hayri's new home and prospects set him beyond Mehmet's reach as a friend. Just as Mehmet and Muhlis are planning to return to Mehmet's village, Muhlis is killed in an accident that dramatizes the city's indifference to its poor. Leaving his family, Mehmet sets out for the village alone. Hiáyilmaz, who ``lived in Turkey for many years,'' evokes the milieu with a skill, sympathy, and rich detail that recall Staples's Shabanu (1989); her characterizations may not be as deep, but even the many minor characters here are perceptively realized, while she contrasts the four boys' opportunities— functions more of luck than of native gifts or good will—in a gracefully fashioned plot growing naturally from her theme. A memorable story that will open minds and hearts. (Fiction. 12+)
Pub Date: May 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-316-36078-3
Page Count: 200
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1992
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
A book that seamlessly brings readers along on a journey of impact and empowerment.
A manifesto for budding feminists.
At the core of this engaging novel are besties Chelsea, who is Irish- and Italian-American and into fashion and beauty, and Jasmine, who is African-American, loves the theater, and pushes back against bias around size (“I don’t need your fake compliments, your pity. I know I’m beautiful. Inside and out”). They and their sidekicks, half-Japanese/half-Lebanese Nadine and Puerto Rican Isaac, grow into first-class activists—simultaneously educating their peers and readers. The year gets off to a rocky start at their progressive, social justice–oriented New York City high school: Along with the usual angst many students experience, Jasmine’s father is terminally ill with cancer, and after things go badly in both their clubs, Jasmine and Chelsea form a women’s rights club which becomes the catalyst for their growth as they explore gender inequality and opportunities for change. This is an inspiring look at two strong-willed teens growing into even stronger young women ready to use their voices and take on the world, imploring budding feminists everywhere to “join the revolution.” The book offers a poetic balance of dialogue among the main characters, their peers, and the adults in their lives. The exquisite pacing, which intersperses everyday teen conflicts with weightier issues, demonstrates how teens long to be heard and taken seriously.
A book that seamlessly brings readers along on a journey of impact and empowerment. (resources for young activists, endnotes) (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Feb. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0008-3
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2019
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