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THE QUIET AND THE LOUD

Heavy themes made bearable by lyrical and evocative writing.

Set in Sydney, Australia, during the wildfires of 2019, this first-person novel focuses on 18-year-old Georgia, a young woman struggling to find her voice.

Georgia is the “quiet” and her best friend, Tess, the “loud” of the title. Georgia routinely subsumes her needs to take care of Tess’ anxiety. This dynamic becomes challenging when Tess’ postpartum depression coincides with the reemergence of Georgia’s estranged alcoholic father. He tells Georgia he is dying and begs for forgiveness and a visit—and for her to keep his diagnosis a secret from her mother. Readers come to understand the multiple layers of trauma her father’s alcoholism laid on Georgia and her mother as flashbacks throughout the book reveal the depth of his disease and cruelty. However, by this point her mother has long since left her father and married a woman named Mel. Mel is an artist who introduces Georgia to the coping mechanisms of kayaking and painting. She is also the person who delivers the central lessons Georgia needs to learn: that she does not have to look after everyone or keep burdensome secrets. Laced throughout the book are engaging descriptions of Georgia’s burgeoning romance with Sri Lankan Australian Calliope (main characters read White). A subplot concerning climate change activism feels a little like an afterthought, although descriptions of the choking smoke make the horror of the wildfires vivid.

Heavy themes made bearable by lyrical and evocative writing. (author’s note) (Fiction. 13-18)

Pub Date: March 28, 2023

ISBN: 978-0-593-35458-2

Page Count: 384

Publisher: Dial Books

Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2023

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INDIVISIBLE

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

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IF HE HAD BEEN WITH ME

There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.

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  • New York Times Bestseller

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

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