Understated but astute narration makes this family snapshot a worthy read.
During a week in New York City, a white teen explores family secrets and a forbidden romance.
Phoebe and her older sister, Luna, both share their mother Meg’s ivory-skinned beauty, musical talents, and complicated relationship with their father, who has been absent from their lives for the past three years. So when Meg sends Phoebe to NYC for a week in order to talk Luna out of leaving school to tour with her band, Phoebe instead secretly meets her father, Kieran. While clearly baffled by the responsibilities parenthood requires and regretful about past decisions, he’s also unsure how to move forward. Contrasting Kieran’s unease with parenthood are brief vignettes, interspersed throughout the novel, narrated by 1990s Meg. They show her love for Kieran but also her growing unease with the intersection of fame and parenting. Meg’s melancholic overtones explain how her own regrets manifest themselves in her parenting. Sharing Meg’s affinity for writing lyrics, narrator Phoebe also excels at capturing a moment’s emotional nuances. While she may occasionally go a bit overboard with figurative language, her reflections on independence and acceptance of people’s flaws are genuine. And her romance feels gentle and true. Not all conflicts are resolved, but there’s a sense that Phoebe has initiated improvements.
Understated but astute narration makes this family snapshot a worthy read. (Fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-243624-5
Page Count: 352
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2016
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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