A powerfully moving YA novel that will hopefully enlighten as much as it entertains.
A 16-year-old artist leaves her small-town Oklahoma home and enters a new school—and a new life—in this second installment in Vincent’s YA series.
Identifying as gender nonconforming, Nic Summers gets misgendered frequently and has had to deal with schoolmates and even family members who are far from understanding. But when she leaves her home to attend a private academy in suburban Oklahoma City, her expectations are high. Not only does she hope to finally find her true self—and fully understand her as-of-yet uncertain gender identity and sexuality—she yearns to find people with whom she can identify and connect. Nic quickly finds happiness at the school—she meets a teacher who takes her passion for art to the next level and a small group of friends who share the same interests. She even meets a mysterious boy, Mack, upon whom she immediately starts crushing. But the same prejudice, hatred, and ignorance that plagued her back home find her and her friends at her new school, and Nic is forced to deal with people who are willing to go out of their way to torment her, destroy her relationships, and derail her burgeoning career in art. An impressively honest and intimate first person POV powers this story of a young person struggling with gender and trying to find their place in a world that is seemingly determined to “erase” them. Anti-trans legislation, book bans, and the blind hatred passed down by some parents (“red state training”) to their children are all referenced in this novel, which doesn’t pull any punches about the dangers growing up different, especially in small town America. “‘They really are coming after us, and it’s not just me. It’s all of you.’”
A powerfully moving YA novel that will hopefully enlighten as much as it entertains.Pub Date: July 31, 2023
ISBN: 978-1958342114
Page Count: 360
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Aug. 14, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
SEEN & HEARD
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
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