An often clever and tightly paced YA romp.
A confident city girl’s parents drag her to a North Dakota historical reenactment camp for the whole summer in Burrows’ YA series starter.
Fifteen-year-old Chloe Crandall has never understood her history professor parents, preferring instead to focus on fashion, her role as “social director” for her Manhattanite friends, and her reporting for the school newspaper. She’s unprepared when her parents announce that the family will be spending the summer at the Dooleyville Black Powder Rendezvous, an ultra-accurate historical reenactment site in rural North Dakota; it’s aimed at fans of the 1830s fur trading era known as “The Shining Times.” There, Chloe feels stranded without any of her modern comforts, and the reenactment veterans regard her as a nuisance. Things get more complicated as Chloe becomes ensnared in family feuds, star-crossed romances, rowdy cowboy concerts, tomahawk competitions, and even life-threatening natural disasters. All the while, she tries to stay true to herself—and maybe catch the eye of the camp director’s handsome nephew in the process. Burrows employs a witty narrative voice and a unique setting that informs readers about the 1830s frontier and the world of avid historical reenactors. Burrows touches on such pertinent topics as the importance of natural preservation and the plight of small family farms under the thumb of corporate interests. However, certain White characters problematically role-play as 19th-century Native Americans, and little time is spent reflecting little on the experiences of actual Indigenous peoples. That said, the Rendezvous and its inhabitants feel convincing and well-developed. The real star of the show is Chloe, whose strong personality and nuanced first-person perspective makes her a likable and relatably flawed protagonist. The increasingly wild situations test her mettle but also allow her to grow into a more resilient person.
An often clever and tightly paced YA romp.Pub Date: Nov. 20, 2020
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Glenarvon Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
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
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