An empathetic exploration of the complex impacts of climate change on young adults.
Two teen activists in Houston find refuge in each other in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
The hurricane has completely upended Eliza Brady’s life: Since her own home flooded, she’s been sharing a bedroom with her baby cousin, and she and her Baldwin High community have been temporarily transferred to Southwest High. Baldwin had more white students and a more prestigious reputation than Southwest. Regardless, overachiever Eliza is determined to have a successful junior year that will help land her at the University of Texas at Austin. Fueled by her genuine fears about the future, Eliza, a white girl, starts Eagles and Tigers United for the Planet, an environmental club named after the mascots of her old and new schools. After experiencing an instant connection with sweet Mexican American Southwest student Javier Garza, who struggles with his own post-Harvey trauma, she asks him to be co-president of ETUP. Together they navigate a new and exciting relationship. Despite some dialogue not feeling like natural teen speech, Mathieu honestly depicts the toll of eco-anxiety and the nuanced interactions between two seemingly different people who are grappling with the environmental impact of their families’ employment. Eliza resents that her family is well-off because her father is a Big Oil executive, while Javi grapples with his older brother’s refinery job, a position he could get without a college degree and that helps feed his family.
An empathetic exploration of the complex impacts of climate change on young adults. (resources) (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250232670
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 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 book that seamlessly brings readers along on a journey of impact and empowerment.
A manifesto for budding feminists.
At the core of this engaging novel are besties Chelsea, who is Irish- and Italian-American and into fashion and beauty, and Jasmine, who is African-American, loves the theater, and pushes back against bias around size (“I don’t need your fake compliments, your pity. I know I’m beautiful. Inside and out”). They and their sidekicks, half-Japanese/half-Lebanese Nadine and Puerto Rican Isaac, grow into first-class activists—simultaneously educating their peers and readers. The year gets off to a rocky start at their progressive, social justice–oriented New York City high school: Along with the usual angst many students experience, Jasmine’s father is terminally ill with cancer, and after things go badly in both their clubs, Jasmine and Chelsea form a women’s rights club which becomes the catalyst for their growth as they explore gender inequality and opportunities for change. This is an inspiring look at two strong-willed teens growing into even stronger young women ready to use their voices and take on the world, imploring budding feminists everywhere to “join the revolution.” The book offers a poetic balance of dialogue among the main characters, their peers, and the adults in their lives. The exquisite pacing, which intersperses everyday teen conflicts with weightier issues, demonstrates how teens long to be heard and taken seriously.
A book that seamlessly brings readers along on a journey of impact and empowerment. (resources for young activists, endnotes) (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Feb. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0008-3
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2019
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