An immersive and fully realized coming-of-age story.
In the mid-1950s, 15-year-old Jonah Salt’s life is centered around his older brother Michael’s gang, the Silver Wolves.
But Michael is in prison on Governors Island, their father is institutionalized at a psychiatric center, and Jonah has just been released from juvenile detention. His drawing skills earn him a spot at Harlem Heights’ High School of Music and Art, the chance of a lifetime for a boy from the South Bronx. At M & A, Jonah, who’s Jewish, is surrounded by the Ivy League–bound elite. The charismatic chair of the English department becomes his ally, and he starts dating Merle Messenger, a bold, academically gifted polio survivor whose disability is handled with care as simply one aspect of her life. Invited into Merle’s world of wealth and culture, Jonah must balance new opportunities with what he owes the gang and community. The book paints a meticulous, detailed historical portrait of New York City. Jonah is an observant and principled first-person narrator, but the real stars are the supporting cast members. This young adult debut by acclaimed writer Charyn is populated by lovable, complicated, wholly realized people who inhabit a world that feels full and bustling. The author portrays the complexities of Jonah’s life—carceral systems fail him and the people he cares about—but he avoids didacticism, instead offering an almost dreamlike trip that unfolds at a measured pace through the events that shape Jonah into the young man he’ll become.
An immersive and fully realized coming-of-age story. (Historical fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: March 24, 2026
ISBN: 9781644215180
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Triangle Square Books for Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2026
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
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations.
Magic, mystery, and love intertwine and invite in this newest take on the “enchanted circus” trope.
Sisters raised by their abusive father, a governor of a colonial backwater in a world vaguely reminiscent of the late 18th century, Scarlett and Donatella each long for something more. Scarlett, olive-skinned, dark of hair and attitude, longs for Caraval, the fabled, magical circus helmed by the possibly evil Master Legend Santos, while blonde, sunny Tella finds comfort in drink and the embraces of various men. A slightly awkward start, with inconsistencies of attitude and setting, rapidly smooths out when they, along with handsome “golden-brown” sailor Julian, flee to Caraval on the eve of Scarlett’s arranged marriage. Tella disappears, and Scarlett must navigate a nighttime world of magic to find her. Caraval delights the senses: beautiful and scary, described in luscious prose, this is a show readers will wish they could enter. Dresses can be purchased for secrets or days of life; clocks can become doors; bridges move: this is an inventive and original circus, laced with an edge of horror. A double love story, one sensual romance and the other sisterly loyalty, anchors the plot, but the real star here is Caraval and its secrets.
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-09525-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
