A sweet, positive tale about teen issues.
In this middle-grade novel, a 13-year-old girl explores her heritage and other mysteries.
It’s 1978, and River Wren is living on Sourland Mountain, a scenic area of New Jersey resplendent with gorgeous surroundings, artistic inspiration, and idyllic childhoods. The teenager engages in friendly competitions with her pals George and Joe to see who can finish a book series the fastest. While Joe grabs forbidden Elmore Leonard novels, River jams along to the songs of Beowulf’s Brother, her father’s band. When she sees an art exhibition celebrating the Lenni-Lenape tribe, from which she is descended on her father’s side, her curiosity is piqued. River has dark skin and hair like her father, while her mother, a professional crafter, and younger sibling resemble the family’s Irish side, with pale skin and red hair. Unfortunately, River’s otherwise supportive dad isn’t much help. He’s estranged from his one sibling and is reluctant to talk about his own connections to his Native roots. Meanwhile, River’s 9-year-old sister, Savannah, keeps going off on her own—but to where? And George’s mother is experiencing extreme mood swings—but why? There’s only one solution: River, Joe, and George form The Three Detectives Club to get to the bottom of things. But as the trio will soon learn, there are no easy answers in life—although supportive families and friends make everything a little more beautiful. This novel is the third installment of McGlothlin’s Sourland Mountain series, though it can easily be read as a stand-alone. The mountain provides a lovely scene—there’s even an illustrated map at the beginning of the book—and almost becomes a key character. The author deftly handles complex issues, like cultural background and mental health, in a gentle but realistic manner. River is an intelligent and thoughtful hero, wanting to know more about the world around her in a way that’s consistent with a young teen. But at times, River and her friends seem a bit younger than 13: Wanting to solve mysteries is age appropriate, but forming a club to do so is slightly childish.
A sweet, positive tale about teen issues.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-1-7332865-2-7
Page Count: -
Publisher: Sourland Mountain Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations.
Magic, mystery, and love intertwine and invite in this newest take on the “enchanted circus” trope.
Sisters raised by their abusive father, a governor of a colonial backwater in a world vaguely reminiscent of the late 18th century, Scarlett and Donatella each long for something more. Scarlett, olive-skinned, dark of hair and attitude, longs for Caraval, the fabled, magical circus helmed by the possibly evil Master Legend Santos, while blonde, sunny Tella finds comfort in drink and the embraces of various men. A slightly awkward start, with inconsistencies of attitude and setting, rapidly smooths out when they, along with handsome “golden-brown” sailor Julian, flee to Caraval on the eve of Scarlett’s arranged marriage. Tella disappears, and Scarlett must navigate a nighttime world of magic to find her. Caraval delights the senses: beautiful and scary, described in luscious prose, this is a show readers will wish they could enter. Dresses can be purchased for secrets or days of life; clocks can become doors; bridges move: this is an inventive and original circus, laced with an edge of horror. A double love story, one sensual romance and the other sisterly loyalty, anchors the plot, but the real star here is Caraval and its secrets.
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-09525-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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