Only slowly accepting his homosexuality, 15-year-old Jamie Bates recoils when he encounters an odd gay student. Once Jamie learns of an untested drug, Rehomoline, that may control same-sex attraction, he begins taking doses, even though the side effects build. This novel is an unfortunate return to early teen gay literature: Sexuality is presented as a problem, not a part of an identity. Despite the first-person narration, Jamie never develops a personality; character motives are either summed up in a simple sentence following Jamie’s choices or left alone. Jamie’s secretive chat sessions with fellow gay teens create some of the few authentic and encouraging moments in the tale; in most instances, he bounces between thinly veiled homophobic moments and awkward encounters with an effeminate homosexual student. School librarian Mr. Covici, with his inspirational messages, presumably acts as an authorial voice within the text (the author, who is gay, is a high-school librarian), but he is such a forced insertion as to feel unnatural. With the dated feel and the insubstantial characterization, Klise’s first novel is a placebo rather than a cure. (Fiction. 12 & up)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7387-2175-0
Page Count: 312
Publisher: Flux
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Entertaining; a drama-filled ode to family against a well-developed Seoul backdrop.
Suddenly relocated against her will from New York to Seoul, Melody finds it hard to adjust.
Sixteen-year-old Melody Lee loves living with her mom in their cozy New York City apartment, spending time with her best friend, and working toward an interior design internship. Her father visits occasionally from Korea, where he lives and works; Melody’s parents wanted her to get a U.S. education. But when she’s caught trying weed, her mother moves them to Seoul, someplace Melody has only visited once. When her father turns out to live in a luxury villa and have a personal driver and sends Melody to a fancy international school, she rejects his lavish lifestyle while harboring resentment and anger. Still, as her new friends and crush show her around Seoul, Melody finds herself enjoying the food, nightlife, history, and culture. But her parents are fighting, her mom is keeping secrets, her relationship with her father is nonexistent, and her mom thinks interior design is not a viable career. Melody tries to balance who she is inside with her new lifestyle. This romantic comedy also focuses on friendships and family relationships as it shows the impact of wealthy parents’ focus on their children’s success and the toll of not being accepted for who you are before coming to a heartwarming conclusion. Romanized Korean is woven throughout, and fascinating details highlight many beautiful and charming parts of Seoul.
Entertaining; a drama-filled ode to family against a well-developed Seoul backdrop. (Fiction. 12-17)Pub Date: May 24, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-40319-8
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
Smart and moving; a beautiful tribute to those living with the threat of wildfires.
A high school girl grapples with personal worries and the devastation wrought by the wildfire that engulfs her small town.
Caprice Alexander both loves Sierra, California, beyond reason and hopes to escape it. While dealing with the stress of senior year, Cappy, who’s white, is also developing an app she hopes will launch her career. At home, she tiptoes around her older brother, Beckett, newly sober after months in rehab. Written after the devastating Camp Fire of 2018 in the author’s hometown of Paradise, this compelling novel has a highly effective narrative frame: The fire doesn’t come as a surprise, but that early knowledge enhances rather than dampens the building tension as Cappy and her family (including their beloved gramps and gram) draw closer to the day that will change everything. Interspersed throughout are archival entries of items lost in the fire, each with an explanation from its owner of the object’s significance. Besides cleverly tying to the book’s conclusion, this structure makes the broader communal loss visible, enlarging the scope of the work beyond Cappy’s individual struggles. Helping Cappy navigate Beckett’s recovery process and the fire’s aftermath are her best friend, Alicia Johnson, one of the few Black people in town, and her crush, River Parker-Holt, newly arrived with his moms and hoping to put down roots after dozens of moves.
Smart and moving; a beautiful tribute to those living with the threat of wildfires. (content note, author’s note, resources) (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: March 18, 2025
ISBN: 9780593405512
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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