High-school student Melissa Miller wears black and cuts herself, seeking refuge in self-harm and soccer. After being humiliated at a party, Missy must choose between dying and meting out death to others as War, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Over four action-packed, angst-filled days, Missy faces her teenage tormentors and witnesses the injustices of war. Unlike her series predecessor Lisa Lewis—now Famine—Missy is slow to accept her role and unimaginative about using it for alternative purposes. But Missy can neither return to her life nor ride as War until she learns to control her rage. Kessler revisits the world, characters and literary weaknesses of Hunger (2010). While Missy’s family, friends and classmates are underdeveloped, the other Horsemen—crazy Pestilence, distrustful Famine and charming, soulful Death—and their distinctive horses are skillfully rendered (the horses especially, almost endearingly so). The causes and warning signs of cutting are clearly established and sympathetically narrated, but the graphic descriptions may unsettle some readers. The psychological and social issues overwhelm the paranormal elements here, and the theme of overcoming self-harm through apocalyptic power wears thin on this second outing. Dark humor and realistic situations cannot overcome the swiftly staling premise. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14 & up)
Pub Date: April 4, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-44528-1
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Graphia
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2011
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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