A tribute act that falters.
A blossoming group of gay friends feel the heat in San Antonio.
On the last day of junior year, 17-year-old Mac and his classmates are reading aloud the persuasive letters they wrote to notable people for their AP Language and Composition class. When Flor hesitates, Mikey gives him the encouragement he needs by singing a refrain from Ariana Grande’s song “breathin.” Mac and best friend Cam join in, Flor’s letter to a RuPaul’s Drag Race competitor earns rousing applause, and a new friend group is born. Dubbing themselves the Fierce Bitches Club, the four plan the summer of a lifetime. Rule No. 1: “Ariana Grande is everything.” Although stan culture can be joyful and validating, the author fails to convey fandom as a means of real connection; the scenes in which Grande’s music and iconography embolden the teens’ relationships come across as contrived and performative. Beyond the celebrity worship lies a story of family and friendship: Mac is figuring out how to come out to his hot-tempered dad, and temperatures rise as Mac and Mikey get close, while Cam (whose emotional drama wears on the group) competes in a drag showdown with Flor and is ostracized by the others. This overly long work reads like a social media saga, complete with group chat transcripts, hashtags, and gay slang. A heartfelt Pride celebration and the concert of their dreams are sunny spots, however. The cast is predominantly Mexican; Mikey is Filipino.
A tribute act that falters. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9781665932059
Page Count: 368
Publisher: MTV Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters.
When star hockey player Alec Barczewski’s estranged childhood friend, Dani Collins, moves to town, they end up in a mutually beneficial fake-dating relationship that reignites old feelings.
Following her parents’ divorce, Dani and her mom move in with Dani’s hockey legend grandfather in Southview, Minnesota, where she spent a month every summer as a child and where her friendship with Alec grew. Between visits, the two were pen pals, but they eventually fell out of touch. Despite some tensions over their loss of friendship, the high school seniors reconnect. Desperate to get off Harvard’s waitlist, Dani needs another extracurricular activity, while Alec—whose reputation took a hit when a photo of him holding a bong appeared on social media—is eager to improve his tarnished image for NHL scouts. The pair strike a deal: They’ll fake date, making Alec look like a stable guy whose academically gifted girlfriend is related to hockey royalty, and in exchange, he’ll get Dani a team manager position that will catch the eye of Harvard’s admissions officers. Eventually, complicated feelings about their past, stressful family relationships, and their brewing romance boil over. Romance fans will love the deliciously tension-filled scenes between Alec and Dani, who are believable friends with heavy demands weighing on them. They feel like real teenagers, and readers will enjoy rooting for them as the well-paced story unfolds. Main characters present white.
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781665921268
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
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
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