It’s subtle as a truck—see Ellen Hopkins’ Impulse (2007) for a complex, layered treatment of suicide—but the stock...
In a cautionary tale about merciless bullying, does generic characterization allow readers to look in a mirror, or does it dilute the point?
Dell’s callous father has abandoned her; her drug-addicted mom’s emotionally absent and cold. Former best friend Cara now hangs out with mean, popular kids who demand that Dell repeatedly perform a mooing sumo wrestler imitation. She always acquiesces, humiliated. The plot marches on, presenting trauma after trauma without nuance. Dell’s former crush, Brandon, cajoles her upstairs at a drunken party and rapes her; then, “BEWARE OF THE RAPIST BOVINE,” trumpets an anonymous sign on Dell’s locker as rumor breaks out that Dell raped Brandon. Positive that nobody would believe that “the enormous, ugly, fat girl…was raped by the hottest guy in school” and viewing Cara’s choice between her and the good-looking bullies as “being offered a bowl of shit or a bowl of ice cream,” Dell’s too self-loathing and depressed to notice the two adults who might help. With nowhere to turn except food (chips are “greasy, salty calm”) and her baby sister (a well-written dash of warmth, but toddlers can’t save teens), Dell just wants everything to end.
It’s subtle as a truck—see Ellen Hopkins’ Impulse (2007) for a complex, layered treatment of suicide—but the stock portrayals may let readers (bullied, bully or observer) slot themselves in where appropriate and heed this red flag. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-5359-3
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Dec. 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2012
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
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
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