A bad bet all around.
A young bookie finds herself on the wrong side of the odds.
For 17-year-old bookie Michal Garcia, life used to be simple: She recorded bets, collected and distributed cash and splurged on expensive clothes. But she never bet herself. She connects with a rebellious classmate, Josh Ellison, after he observes Michal taking revenge on a client who failed to pay up, and he begins encouraging her to take more risks. When a family friend dies, leaving behind many debts, Michal and Josh enact their own wealth redistribution system to help the family, charitable organizations and themselves. As they become bolder in their law-breaking, Michal finds herself trapped. Ayarbe’s laudable interest in exploring issues of social justice in her novel is compromised by didactic dialogue, forced romance and a dull narrative. Approaching the hot-button topic of immigration through generic soundbites, for instance, doesn’t add any depth or insight to the discussion, especially when voiced by unlikable characters. Michal’s friend Moch embodies gang-member stereotypes, while Michal is as uninteresting as she imagines herself to be, never standing out even in her own narration. Ayarbe’s attempts at chemistry between Josh and Michal never come to fruition, creating awkward gaps where emotional connections should occur.
A bad bet all around. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: May 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-06-199388-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 14, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2012
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
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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