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THE REUNION

A suspenseful and atmospheric story of a family with a messy history.

What are the Mayweathers hiding, and what are they willing to do to keep their secrets hidden while holidaying in paradise?

The Mayweather family teenagers are bonded by the Incident, which happened three years ago. Sixteen-year-old Addison Acker-Mayweather is “the family diplomat,” determined to keep the peace at all costs. Her twin brother, Mason, has a secret of his own that he’s kept from the rest of the family. Their cousin Natalia Mayweather, also 16, is preoccupied with her online boyfriend, Seth. The cousins are reunited the day after Christmas for a weeklong extended family vacation in Cancún to celebrate Addison and Mason’s mom’s engagement to Austin Hunt, who’s accompanied by his 17-year-old son, Theo. As the Mayweather family gathers once again, mysteries begin to unravel. Interspersed between chapters are emails and newspaper stories from January, revealing that one of the teenagers has gone missing. Told in alternating viewpoints from Addison’s, Mason’s, Natalia’s, and Theo’s perspectives, this slow-burn thriller gradually reveals the Mayweather family’s secrets, building up to a cliffhanger ending. The suspense is palpable, and while the pace drags at times, the Mayweather teens have enough interpersonal drama to keep readers hooked. Queer representation is a strong point: Theo is bisexual, and Natalia has two mothers. The Mayweather family is largely cued White; Natalia is White and Puerto Rican.

A suspenseful and atmospheric story of a family with a messy history. (family tree) (Thriller. 14-18)

Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2023

ISBN: 9781665921466

Page Count: 320

Publisher: McElderry

Review Posted Online: May 24, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2023

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STALKING JACK THE RIPPER

Perhaps a more genuinely enlightened protagonist would have made this debut more engaging

Audrey Rose Wadsworth, 17, would rather perform autopsies in her uncle’s dark laboratory than find a suitable husband, as is the socially acceptable rite of passage for a young, white British lady in the late 1800s.

The story immediately brings Audrey into a fractious pairing with her uncle’s young assistant, Thomas Cresswell. The two engage in predictable rounds of “I’m smarter than you are” banter, while Audrey’s older brother, Nathaniel, taunts her for being a girl out of her place. Horrific murders of prostitutes whose identities point to associations with the Wadsworth estate prompt Audrey to start her own investigation, with Thomas as her sidekick. Audrey’s narration is both ponderous and polemical, as she sees her pursuit of her goals and this investigation as part of a crusade for women. She declares that the slain aren’t merely prostitutes but “daughters and wives and mothers,” but she’s also made it a point to deny any alignment with the profiled victims: “I am not going as a prostitute. I am simply blending in.” Audrey also expresses a narrow view of her desired gender role, asserting that “I was determined to be both pretty and fierce,” as if to say that physical beauty and liking “girly” things are integral to feminism. The graphic descriptions of mutilated women don’t do much to speed the pace.

Perhaps a more genuinely enlightened protagonist would have made this debut more engaging . (Historical thriller. 15-18)

Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-316-27349-7

Page Count: 336

Publisher: Jimmy Patterson/Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016

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INDIVISIBLE

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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