A multigenerational novel that digs into relatable and timely topics.
Six teens experience unforgettable proms.
Black, biracial high school senior Mina is attending prom with her sort-of boyfriend—the white, evangelical captain of the football team. White junior Penney and her boyfriend—a senior of Ghanaian descent—plan a special, private after-prom party. Sheryl is white, lives in foster care, and wasn’t even planning on attending prom, until one of the popular guys asked her out. Each girl becomes pregnant and decides against termination. While the circumstances around the pregnancies are different, and the girls move in different social circles, they become allies, forming a family to raise their children together. Now, 18 years later, these children are preparing for prom. Blossom, Mina’s daughter, is in a committed relationship, but she’s worried about having sex with her boyfriend for the first time. Amber, Penney’s daughter, is attending prom with her girlfriend, but she’s determined to make a statement against the outdated, gendered, heteronormative, patriarchal foundation of the event. Cole, Sheryl’s son, is struggling with misogynistic beliefs about girls, women, and sex that pervade his social circle and that he perpetuates. Magoon deftly explores issues relating to teen relationships, including expectations, consent, sexuality, and virginity. Although the topics are heavy, the tone is uplifting. While the book has chapters from each major character’s point of view, the character development is light and may leave readers wanting more.
A multigenerational novel that digs into relatable and timely topics. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: April 30, 2024
ISBN: 9781250806253
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
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
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression.
After surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself.
Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself; her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out; her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply; and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. After spending time in treatment with other young women like her—who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves—Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she "like-likes" but who had pined for Ellis instead. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends. Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a "semifamous" local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. Through intense, diarylike chapters chronicling Charlie's journey, the author captures the brutal and heartbreaking way "girls who write their pain on their bodies" scar and mar themselves, either succumbing or surviving. Like most issue books, this is not an easy read, but it's poignant and transcendent as Charlie breaks more and more before piecing herself back together.
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-93471-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
