by Helene Dunbar ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 3, 2019
A painful but ultimately empowering queer history lesson.
Teens in 1980s New York City navigate adolescence in the wake of the AIDS crisis.
When Michael’s older brother, Connor, came out to their Catholic parents, their father kicked Connor out. At 16, Michael keeps his sexuality secret in fear of the same fate. Michael could move out and go drinking and dancing every night with his friends at The Echo and “forget, forget, forget.” But, in the shadow of the “gay plague,” he asks: “How do I live my life without becoming a statistic?” As people around Michael get sick, he struggles to balance his desire for liberation and the consequences that may come with it. Dunbar (Boomerang, 2018, etc.) painstakingly populates the narrative with 1980s references—particularly to music—creating a vivid historical setting. However, occasional contemporary phrases like “All the things” do slip in. With characters that veer toward archetypes, the text seems more history- than character-driven. Nonetheless, the racially and religiously diverse cast, emphasis on safe sex practices, and careful maneuvering around queer plot tropes offer a compelling, teen-movie–esque portrait of the times. Dunbar’s lack of quotation marks in dialogue augments Michael’s strong first-person voice, matching the sense of immediacy brought by the author’s vignette style. The afterword with reflections from three activists provides real-life historical context. Michael and his family are coded as white.
A painful but ultimately empowering queer history lesson. (afterword) (Historical fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-8104-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: June 17, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
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by Kathleen Glasgow ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 30, 2016
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression.
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New York Times Bestseller
After surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself.
Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself; her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out; her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply; and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. After spending time in treatment with other young women like her—who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves—Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she "like-likes" but who had pined for Ellis instead. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends. Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a "semifamous" local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. Through intense, diarylike chapters chronicling Charlie's journey, the author captures the brutal and heartbreaking way "girls who write their pain on their bodies" scar and mar themselves, either succumbing or surviving. Like most issue books, this is not an easy read, but it's poignant and transcendent as Charlie breaks more and more before piecing herself back together.
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-93471-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
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by Holly Black ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 2, 2018
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
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Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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by Holly Black ; illustrated by Rovina Cai
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