A sweet teen love story that is weighted by an overflow of drama.
In Veronica’s world, things are not always what they seem—and she’s comfortable with that.
But what else would you expect from a girl who lives with the ghost of her mother and celebrates holidays on the wrong days? Her friends are happy to go along with Veronica’s quirks, but the other kids at school think she’s weird. When Sawyer, who is part of the popular group and struggles with his overly involved, alcoholic mother, moves into the apartment downstairs from Veronica, she doesn’t suspect that it will change her life. First, Veronica and Sawyer pair up to work on a class assignment and become amateur ghost hunters. Then, they start to fall for each other as they visit haunted spots around town. But as they grow closer, there’s always the looming specter of Veronica’s debilitating migraines—she lives in fear of a life-threatening disease. Can Sawyer handle that? This spooky teen drama is narrated in Veronica’s and Sawyer’s first-person voices in alternating chapters. McGarry’s (Only a Breath Apart, 2019, etc.) characters are lively and sympathetic, though their circumstances often seem overly dramatic. The book is also packed to bursting with a slew of issues that can feel overwhelming. Veronica and Sawyer are white, and the cast includes characters who are black, Mexican American, and lesbian.
A sweet teen love story that is weighted by an overflow of drama. (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Jan. 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-19604-0
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Tor Teen
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
A triumphant debut.
Fourteen-year-old Heera knows what fate awaits many girls growing up in Lalten Bazaar, a red-light district in Bihar, India, commonly known as Girls Bazaar.
Her neighborhood is controlled by gang leader Ravi Lala, who uses predatory loans and the support of corrupt police officers to keep families impoverished and force girls into prostitution. As a member of the marginalized Nat caste, Heera knows many obstacles await her. Her cousin Mira Di was auctioned off by her father to a traveling dance company. When a fight with a bully leads to Heera’s expulsion from school, she knows it will only be a matter of time before her father sells her to Ravi Lala. Fortunately, Heera receives help from Rini Di, a women’s rights advocate in charge of a hostel for vulnerable girls, and joins kung fu lessons at the hostel. As Heera’s strength and self-confidence grow, so does her desire to help the girls and women in her community break free, especially when Heera finds out that her best friend will soon be sold and smuggled abroad. Heera’s narration contains vivid sensory descriptions that, along with the Hindi words scattered throughout, bring the setting to life, quickly immersing readers in her world. The depth of the story’s details and its themes of bodily autonomy, community, and women’s empowerment reflect Gupta’s experience as the founder of Apne Aap, an NGO working to end sex trafficking.
A triumphant debut. (author’s note, resources) (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: April 18, 2023
ISBN: 9781338825091
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
Despite the well-meaning warmth, a wearying plod.
Can a 17-year-old with her first girlfriend prevent real-life folks from discovering her online fandoms?
Cass is proudly queer, happily fat, and extremely secretive about being a fan who role-plays on Discord. Back in middle school, she had what she calls a gaming addiction, playing “The Sims” so much her parents had to take the game away. Now, turning to her role-play friends to cope with her fighting parents, she worries that people will judge her for her fannishness and online life. To be fair, her grades are suffering. And sure, maybe she’s missed a college application deadline. Also, her mom has suddenly left Minneapolis and moved to Maine to be with a man she met online. But on the other hand, Cass is finally dating her amazingly cute longtime crush, Taylor. Pansexual Taylor is a gamer, a little bit punk, White like Cass, and so, so great—but she still can’t help comparing her to Rowan, Cass’ online best friend and role-playing ship partner. But Rowan doesn’t want to be a dirty little secret and doesn’t see why Cass can’t be honest about this part of her life. The inevitable train wreck of her lies looms on the horizon for months in an overlong morality play building to the climax that includes tidy resolutions to all the character arcs that are quite heartwarming but, in the case of Cass’ estranged mother, narratively unearned.
Despite the well-meaning warmth, a wearying plod. (Fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-06-324332-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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