Intense, unrelenting, and inspiring.
The brazen younger daughter in a family scorched by tragedy examines the ashes of the aftermath.
Em Morales is closely bonded to her older sister, Nor. When Nor is violently raped at a frat party, Em goes hard for #JusticeforNor—most significantly by convincing Nor to take her case to trial rather than accept a plea deal. A jury finds the defendant guilty on multiple counts, but a judge releases him based on time served, leaving the entire Morales family devasted. After Em makes friends with witty theater and medieval history nerd Jess (who uses they/them pronouns), she begins writing a fictionalized verse account of the life of Marguerite de Bressieux, a 15th-century noblewoman-turned-knight who avenged the horrific deaths and rapes of her family, adorned by Jess’ illustrations inspired by illuminated manuscripts. McCullough has created an absorbing firecracker of a young woman who bleeds rage and grief as she wrestles with transcending not only her sister’s trauma, but society’s general malevolence toward women. The effect is engrossing, especially as Marguerite’s and Em’s stories become intertwined. With a focus on those who surround victims, McCullough underscores the importance of collective healing. Kobabe’s illustrations elicit the medieval era, but the delicate, rounded lines do not match the grit of Em’s words. Em and Nor are biracial, with a presumably White mom and Guatemalan immigrant dad.
Intense, unrelenting, and inspiring. (author's note) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 9, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-525-55605-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
A celebration of Black teen love and the magic of possibility.
Six authors collaborate to create an interwoven story set during a blackout.
Unbearably hot temperatures in New York City cause a sudden blackout, simultaneously throwing plans into chaos and creating unexpected opportunities. Contributor Clayton, who is joined by YA superstars Jackson, Stone, Thomas, Woodfolk, and Yoon, was inspired by Covid-19 and the “metaphorical blackout” it has created for the world to initiate this project that embraces a wide spectrum of Blackness and sexuality. The characters’ final destination is a block party in Brooklyn with Jackson’s “The Long Walk,” a story about reconnecting exes told in five acts, serving as the overarching mechanism to connect the narratives. Stone and Woodfolk contribute queer love stories in “Mask Off” and “Made To Fit” respectively. Thomas’ “No Sleep ’Til Brooklyn” begins as a love triangle, progresses to a love quadrangle—and in the end is about self-love and discovery. Clayton’s story, “All the Great Love Stories…and Dust,” is set in the New York Public Library’s main branch and centers on best friends who may become something more. Yoon’s piece completes the novel with strangers finding love in a ride-share car in “Seymour and Grace.” Working together to deliver a fantastic mix of humor and romance, these authors offer something fun and lighthearted that is welcome during the continuing pandemic and that will bring joy long after it’s over.
A celebration of Black teen love and the magic of possibility. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 22, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-308809-2
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2021
BOOK TO SCREEN
SEEN & HEARD
Hard-to-read story, hard-to-stop-reading writing.
A hardscrabble antihero’s coming out lands him in an off-the-grid conversion camp.
Connor Major of Ambrose, Illinois, has quite a mouth on him. But when it comes to the rite-of-passage revelation to his single, hardcore Christian mother that he’s gay, he can’t find his words. At the behest of his boyfriend, Ario, Connor begrudgingly comes out, which is where the book begins. His rocky relationship with his mother is disintegrating, his frustration with exuberantly out Ario grows, accusations of being the absentee father of his BFF’s baby boy haunt him, and he gets violently absconded to a Christian conversion camp in Costa Rica. And that’s all before the unraveling of a mystery, a murder, gunshots, physical violence, emotional abuse, heat, humidity, and hell on Earth happen in the span of a single day. This story points fingers at despicable zealots and applauds resilient queer kids. Connor’s physical and emotional inability to fully find comfort in being gay isn’t magically erased, acknowledging the difficulty of self-acceptance in the face of disapproving homophobes. Lord of the Flies–like survival skills, murder, and brutal violence (Tasers, spears, guns) fuel the story. And secret sex and romance underscore the lack of social liberty and self-acceptance but also support the optimistic hope of freedom. Connor is White, as is the majority of the cast; Ario is Muslim.
Hard-to-read story, hard-to-stop-reading writing. (Fiction 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-63583-061-3
Page Count: 392
Publisher: Flux
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
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