Great holds, great movement, and a worthwhile finish.
A rock-climbing adventure unearths an unexpected mystery.
The summer after high school graduation, Cara’s busy working three jobs to fund a gap year rock climbing in Patagonia. She’s independent and tough, not the least because she has to be—her dad, who taught her to climb, is unstable, mentally ill, and so unreliable he missed her graduation ceremony. Now, he’s not responding to messages. When Cara goes to check on him, she finds his climbing gear gone and one wall of his trailer papered over with maps, photographs, and sticky notes. To find him, she’ll need to figure out what it all means—and what peak he’s trying to climb. Interspersed with Cara’s first-person narrative are diary entries from the 1940s by a young, implied White climber in the Civilian Conservation Corps describing his growing romance with an artistic Japanese American farm girl. They are hampered by racism, particularly once America enters the war. Bradbury’s smart, fast-moving book immerses readers in the language, procedures, and emotions of rock climbing without overwhelming those unfamiliar with the sport. She lets her characters and their stories be complicated and multidimensional. Her description of Cara’s dad’s mental illness is particularly real: “Sometimes he was sort of medically allowed to be a selfish jerk. The tricky part was how the messiness made it really hard for everybody around him to know when to cut him some slack and when to just cut him off.”
Great holds, great movement, and a worthwhile finish. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: June 6, 2023
ISBN: 9781416990093
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
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
A sweet, nuanced, and reflective coming-of-age love story filled with moments of true beauty between family and friends.
Bestseller Dessen returns with the story of a teen who enters an unexpected whirlwind of a summer adventure with family she barely knows.
After high school graduation, Finley Hope expected to spend her customary two awkward weeks with her distant mother, Cat, who left when she was 4, before heading off to begin the life she’s planned around her boyfriend, Colin. But Cat abruptly changes their New York City itinerary, instead taking Finley with her to help prepare her rural family home for sale. Within days, Colin breaks up with Finley over a video call. Reeling from heartbreak, Finley throws her phone into the lake, entering an unexpected period of offline clarity. She also suffers the shock of accidentally discovering that Cat has cancer. But, immersed in the rhythms of the small town, Finley befriends new people—including Ben, a shy, awkward, but adorable cook at her aunt’s diner—while uncovering pieces of her mother’s past and the judgment that led her to keep her distance. Dessen excels at identifying pivotal aspects of young adulthood, allowing them to unfurl with authenticity and robust characterization. With time and reflection, Finley, who’s cued white, recognizes how much of her life she’s surrendered to others’ expectations. Through this forced pause and sudden change in plans, she discovers strength, independence, and the transformative power of being fully present in a place she never intended to be.
A sweet, nuanced, and reflective coming-of-age love story filled with moments of true beauty between family and friends. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: May 5, 2026
ISBN: 9798347108770
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
PERSPECTIVES
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