A realistic portrayal of the impact on young people of troubled family relationships.
An 18-year-old Black girl is caught between dreams of future stardom and complications at home.
Nikki Williams’ music has caught the attention of a record label executive who invites her to audition for his new girl group. Her mother believes she’ll be spending the weekend with a friend, not going to California. But before Nikki can sneak away from Cactus, Texas, she finds Vae, her younger sister, drunk and making out with a misogynistic creep in their driveway. Their mother comes home unexpectedly, and during the subsequent argument, Vae blurts out Nikki’s secret to deflect their mother’s anger. Nikki is kicked out of the house. Even though things have been strained between them since he started dating someone new, Nikki’s best friend, Malachai, comes through for her as he has many times before, asking her to spend spring break with him before going to the second round of auditions the following weekend. But then Vae goes missing. Nikki’s conflicts with her unstable mother intensify while she and Mal look for Vae. Socioeconomic disparities and difficult family dynamics feature prominently in this narrative, as Mal’s stable home life and wealth are juxtaposed against Nikki’s circumstances. This engaging novel centering Black teens includes romantic elements that take a back seat to the focus on Nikki’s relationship with her mother. Mal’s unfolding story arc sheds light on the insights he has into family struggles.
A realistic portrayal of the impact on young people of troubled family relationships. (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: July 11, 2023
ISBN: 9780063254749
Page Count: 400
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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