Strong characters resist but can’t overcome a frustratingly unrealistic plot. (Fiction. 14 & up)
Two privileged Kentucky teens concoct a sham marriage to prevent one’s deportation, generating fallout neither is prepared to cope with.
Mo (short for Mohammed), 17, and Annie, 18, have been platonic best friends since she rescued the newly arrived immigrant from ridicule in fifth grade, and in turn, he coaxed Annie, socially immobilized by her sister’s death, back into the world. Mo’s summer plans include basketball camp and eventually Harvard or Yale, Annie’s, a summer job her sister once held, then art school. Both are devastated when Mo’s father is laid off and must take his family back to Jordan. Annie talks Mo into marriage though they’re warned of potentially grim legal consequences. Narrating alternating chapters, Mo and Annie are rounded, believable and sympathetic; yet to serve the plot, they must behave in ways that make little sense. Both are careful and observant, unlikely to jump off a bridge without at least looking over the edge first. An odd narrative tension results, as if the characters would much rather do something else. Looming over the story is the urgent, hot-button issue of U.S. teens raised with American identities but lacking legal status. For Mo, deportation means returning to his wealthy family in Jordan and applying for a student visa for an Ivy League education—lowering the stakes from potentially devastating to merely inconvenient.
Strong characters resist but can’t overcome a frustratingly unrealistic plot. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4424-5864-2
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 27, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2013
Thrilling, timely, and terrific.
Tragedy and heroism interweave in a story about revolution, resistance, and beautiful queer love.
After the devastating ending to We Set the Dark on Fire (2019), Carmen Santos, no longer the Segunda to Mateo Garcia, Medio’s most powerful heir, is on the run toward the La Voz headquarters. Carmen used to be one of the resistance’s most well-respected members, but after years away on undercover assignment, she finds the fabled El Buitre’s wavering leadership has taken a new, hazardous direction. Proving that her allegiance to the cause remains as strong as ever is more difficult than expected, her heart torn between her beliefs and Dani, the girl she has fallen in love with but doesn’t know yet if she can fully trust. Shifting perspective and setting to Carmen and the La Voz camp (after the first novel centered Dani and the capital) is a bold choice that ultimately pans out as readers are rewarded with Carmen’s strong, determined voice and Mejia’s lush writing depicting the complexities of the ongoing fight against oppression in a divided, Latinx-inspired world. Carmen’s divided heart rings true, her daring actions meeting deadly consequences that realistically intensify the narrative without losing track of what the fight is all about: equality for all. A second—and final—volume that not only surpasses the accomplishments of its celebrated predecessor, but takes it to a higher, brighter level.
Thrilling, timely, and terrific. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-269134-7
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Raw, delicate, and deeply caring.
When Death-Cast doesn’t call, fate intertwines the lives of two boys, both haunted by their pasts and with futures they can’t escape.
In this third installment of the series that opened with 2017’s They Both Die at the End, Paz Dario waits every night for Death-Cast to call—as it should have for his father nearly 10 years ago, when Paz shot him to save his mother’s life. But the call never comes. Death-Cast killed Paz’s dreams of an acting career: No one will hire him now because the world sees him as a villain. When Paz tries (not for the first time) to put an end to his suffering, an unexpected encounter with Alano Rosa, the heir of Death-Cast, stops him. Both in a place of desperation, Alano and Paz sign a contract to live for Begin Days instead of waiting for their End Days. As suspenseful and emotionally wrenching as the previous titles in the series, this new installment explores heavy themes of abuse, mental health, self-harm, and suicide. Paz grapples with a recent diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Silvera surrounds Alano and Paz with a web of complex relationships. Although the protagonists fall fast for one another and form a deep connection over Alano’s desire to support Paz, Silvera emphasizes the importance of professional help. Both Alano and Paz have Puerto Rican heritage. The cliffhanger ending promises more to come.
Raw, delicate, and deeply caring. (content warning, resources) (Speculative fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780063240858
Page Count: 720
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
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