A chilling dystopian world that feels more like a warning than speculation.
Sixteen-year-old Ellie Jacobs has been in a cryogenic sleep for three years.
When the U.S. elected President Lyon on an extreme anti-science platform, Ellie’s family, who are cued white, chose experimental suspension, planning to wake in 10 years’ time, after the worst had (hopefully) passed. Ellie’s 13-year-old brother, Scott, ran away, joining his friend Mateo, whose family was planning to flee to Mexico, which was led by a liberal woman. Ellie awakens prematurely, to find that her parents have perished. She’s now in the Southwest ReAdmission Center, which brainwashes residents and drugs them into amnesic conformity. The outside world is unrecognizable: Women are expected to be sexy and submissive (platinum blond is now “the only acceptable hair color for a woman”); girls leave school at 14; and medical care is outlawed. When Scott and Mateo, who ended up joining a resistance group in the mountains, learn Ellie is awake, they rush to reach her before the conditioning takes hold, but someone else arrives first, and in the ensuing chaos, the three are separated and left trying to navigate and resist a hostile country while searching for each other. Cantor draws clear parallels to the current political climate, effectively showing how small, incremental steps can lead to unthinkable outcomes—an unsettling reminder of how easily extremism can take root. Her strong worldbuilding, which explores gender but not race, establishes the outlines of an authoritarian regime while avoiding infodumps.
A chilling dystopian world that feels more like a warning than speculation. (Dystopian. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2026
ISBN: 9798347107285
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 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
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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