A moving and authentic exploration of one young woman’s moral compass.
Savannah Howard leaves home in Tennessee to attend prestigious Ivy League Wooddale University on a full scholarship.
With her Mama’s mantra—“I’ve worked hard. I deserve to be here”—in her heart, hardworking Black 18-year-old Savannah has the common sense to know that predominantly White Wooddale will be a world apart from life in the Memphis projects where she grew up. However, nothing can prepare her for the hurtful microaggressions she faces on Day 1 from her privileged roommate, Elaina, and Elaina’s mother or the defacing of the statue commemorating the first Black president of Wooddale. When she suspects that student-body president Lucas and his frat brothers are responsible for the incident, Savannah’s quest for justice begins alongside her new friends, Black sophomores Tasha and Benji. Online, she uses the #WoodaleConfessions hashtag to draw attention to the cause. Savannah’s voice is clear, and through her, Lee’s debut presents readers with a highly relatable, strong female lead. Savannah wants to make her mother proud and stay solid for her brilliant BFF, B’onca, who has been dealt a different hand. She vacillates between keeping her head down and working toward her degree and being an activist. What transpires will leave readers in awe of her integrity and grit. This novel will speak to anyone who has struggled with knowing whether the right thing to do was the right thing for them.
A moving and authentic exploration of one young woman’s moral compass. (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-30915-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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