Poignant and insightful.
An autistic Palestinian Canadian teen grapples with parental expectations and romantic dilemmas.
Fourteen-year-old Lennon Hadid knows she’s her strict father’s favorite. Unlike her rebellious older sister, Georgie, Lennon doesn’t challenge his rules. When Georgie falls pregnant at 17 and becomes the target of family shame and criticism, Lennon feels doubly pressured to be her father’s “sweet angel.” Unfortunately, lately all she thinks about is “Boys. Kissing. More than kissing.” And when she meets John Brody, a white-presenting boy from a working-class background, she can’t stop thinking about him. But John keeps pushing her away. Maybe she’d be safer dating Theo Petropolis, a boy from church who’s of Greek and Lebanese descent. He’s growing on her—and her dad seems to be setting them up. How can she choose without hurting someone, herself included? The book is divided into four parts, one for each year of high school, as Lennon confronts myriad issues, including emotional abuse, class privilege, sexual desire, and gendered double standards. Readers will particularly appreciate the frank, sensitive portrayal of how intimacy with different partners can vary physically and emotionally and the importance of asserting boundaries. Khalilieh’s depiction of how autism complicates Lennon’s relationships feels painfully authentic, as does Lennon’s frustration when she recognizes how much of her true self she suppresses to earn her dad’s approval. Lennon’s gradual understanding of her immigrant parents’ traumatic experiences adds nuance, and her hard-won growth culminates in a thought-provoking ending.
Poignant and insightful. (content note) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2026
ISBN: 9781774884782
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
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
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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