Imaginative horror meets honesty about emotional pain.
Theo, reeling from his best friend Evan’s recent death from cancer, finds the world literally flipped upside down.
Amid the chaos of a topsy-turvy world, with his phone battery at 1%, Theo receives a mysterious warning text: “Don’t let it in.” He’s utterly alone until he finds Emma, a fellow survivor who’s living with multiple mental and physical health diagnoses. She’s named this world, where she’s been isolated for a long time, the Flip Side. Emma is determined to help Theo escape from the monster that’s chasing them. She asserts that “the only way to survive is to give up hope,” but nevertheless, the young people’s friendship brings hope to them both. The Flip Side is a truly sinister place, with labyrinthine cityscapes and apocalyptic colors. Details, such as the grotesque body of the shape-shifting monster, which is born of negative emotions, effectively convey the nightmarish tone, and bold black lines enhance the well-paced action. The intriguing premise and striking visual representation convey lessons about depression and grief. Evan, who appears in flashback scenes, feels less like his own person than an impetus for Theo’s growth, however. Elements such as the struggle for people to acknowledge grief over a friend and Theo’s relationship with Emma (who has a difficult personality and problems too profound for him to understand) add interest. Theo is cued Latine, Emma reads white, and Evan has brown skin and Afro-textured hair.
Imaginative horror meets honesty about emotional pain. (content note, author’s note) (Graphic supernatural. 12-18)Pub Date: April 22, 2025
ISBN: 9780593617991
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Rocky Pond Books/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2025
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
Exactly what the title promises.
A grieving teen’s devotion to romance films might ruin her chances at actual romance.
Liz Buxbaum has always adored rom-coms, not least for helping her still feel close to her screenwriter mother, who died when she was little. Liz hopes that her senior year might turn into a real-life romantic fantasy, as an old crush has moved back to town, cuter and nicer than ever. Surely she can get Michael to ask her to prom. If only Wes, the annoying boy next door, would help her with her scheming! This charming, fluffy concoction manages to pack into one goofy plot every conceivable trope, from fake dating to the makeover to the big misunderstanding. Creative, quirky, daydreaming Liz is just shy of an annoying stereotype, saved by a dry wit and unresolved grief and anger. Wes makes for a delightful bad boy with a good heart, and supporting characters—including a sassy best friend, a perfect popular rival, even a (not really) evil stepmother—all get the opportunity to transcend their roles. The only villain here is Liz’s lovelorn imagination, provoking her into foolish lies that cause actual hurt feelings; but she is sufficiently self-aware to make amends just in time for the most important trope of all: a blissfully happy ending. All characters seem to be White by default.
Exactly what the title promises. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6762-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK TO SCREEN
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