A gratifying story of a young woman’s path to recovering pieces of her past self through a present laced with pain.
Eve is in pain all the time.
The 16-year-old Boston girl is recovering from scoliosis surgery and growing increasingly dependent on opioids to numb the trauma. As her body heals from the agonizing effects of the surgery, she must also negotiate relationships with her physically and emotionally absent mother; her estranged former best friend, Lidia; and her classmate and maybe-crush, Thomas. Her mind confused by painkillers, Eve believes she has made a devil’s bargain as she hears the voice of her telescope talking to her: It promises that her pain will disappear, but so, piece by piece, will the state of Minnesota. The mystery for Eve is to untangle this riddle, one she believes is the key to both her pain and the three people closest to her. As she grapples with addiction, Eve is forced to confront what in her life can be fixed, what she wants fixed, what must stay broken, and what can be transformed into something new. Told in alternating chapters of poetry and prose, this intense, unflinching story asks what it means to be repaired and reveals the forces that bring people back together after being torn apart. Eve and her mother are White; Spanish-speaking Thomas’ grandmother came from Puerto Rico; and Eve’s mother’s partner is a woman who is cued as Black.
A gratifying story of a young woman’s path to recovering pieces of her past self through a present laced with pain. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-316-49349-9
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2021
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
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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