Claiming to be a nonfiction novel, this story explores the relationship between two teens struggling with addiction: Ted with alcoholism and Erica with bulimia. Ted is a good kid from a working-class family, formerly a star basketball player who has just lost an excellent scholarship. Erica is an angry little rich girl trying to escape the control of her powerful father. They’re brought together by Michael, who hires Ted to spy on Erica for her father, offering to pay for his college education. Coburn tells much of the story through e-mails, as the two teens develop a friendship. Both become appealing to the reader, although Michael stands out, as the most original and interesting character. Coburn keeps the story well balanced and moving along swiftly. Readers will care what happens to these people; as a result, it should appeal to a wide audience. Nicely done. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-525-47383-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2005
BOOK REVIEW
Gripping and authentic in the ways it portrays grief and shows how moving forward means having to let go.
After her father dies, a teen drops out of high school, loses her job, and embarks on a four-week journey through the California backcountry.
Everyone in the Bear Creek Community Service program is assigned a nickname as part of starting over with “a blank slate.” No one needs to know your past or whether you’re there by choice or court order. All that matters is the present: working on hiking trail maintenance. For Atlas James, or Maps, as she’s now known, it’s an escape from the poor decisions she’s made since her father’s death from cancer and a tribute to him. One of his dying wishes was to hike the Western Sierra Trail with her—the same one she’ll now be spending the summer working on with Books, Junior, Sugar, and King. Maps is immediately drawn to group leader King, and as secrets are revealed, the two act as magnets, attracting and repelling one another. Maps’ tangible grief is centered as she copes with the loss of the only person who understood her and always had her back. Gradually, as they clear brush, dig drainage, and battle the backcountry and their pasts, a sense of family is forged among the crew. The palpable romantic tension between King and Maps propels this beautifully written story. Junior is coded Black; other major characters read white.
Gripping and authentic in the ways it portrays grief and shows how moving forward means having to let go. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Jan. 9, 2024
ISBN: 9780063088580
Page Count: 336
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Thrilling, timely, and terrific.
Tragedy and heroism interweave in a story about revolution, resistance, and beautiful queer love.
After the devastating ending to We Set the Dark on Fire (2019), Carmen Santos, no longer the Segunda to Mateo Garcia, Medio’s most powerful heir, is on the run toward the La Voz headquarters. Carmen used to be one of the resistance’s most well-respected members, but after years away on undercover assignment, she finds the fabled El Buitre’s wavering leadership has taken a new, hazardous direction. Proving that her allegiance to the cause remains as strong as ever is more difficult than expected, her heart torn between her beliefs and Dani, the girl she has fallen in love with but doesn’t know yet if she can fully trust. Shifting perspective and setting to Carmen and the La Voz camp (after the first novel centered Dani and the capital) is a bold choice that ultimately pans out as readers are rewarded with Carmen’s strong, determined voice and Mejia’s lush writing depicting the complexities of the ongoing fight against oppression in a divided, Latinx-inspired world. Carmen’s divided heart rings true, her daring actions meeting deadly consequences that realistically intensify the narrative without losing track of what the fight is all about: equality for all. A second—and final—volume that not only surpasses the accomplishments of its celebrated predecessor, but takes it to a higher, brighter level.
Thrilling, timely, and terrific. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-269134-7
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2020
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