A thoughtful rumination on the power of friendship, trauma, and healing.
A queer college freshman struggles with trauma.
Nathaniel Conti starts his second semester as a Hartland University freshman determined not to repeat his first, when he isolated himself from campus life. Now, he wants to be seen. He’s hard to miss: His hair is dyed à la Cruella de Vil. When he meets fellow students Celeste Hernandez and Tasha Seo, who are Mexican American and lesbian and Korean American and nonbinary, respectively, he feels they’re “queerplatonic soulmates.” Plus, his new friends are on the women’s lacrosse team, the sport he’d excelled at in high school. Nathaniel is up front about some—but not all—of his troubles, like how he got kicked off his lacrosse team and earned his criminal record. He’s also in crisis, experiencing dissociative states and insomnia. And then he bumps into Max Palazzola from high school, formerly his best friend, lacrosse teammate, and partner in crime. The two white boys haven’t spoken since they were both in handcuffs, and Nathaniel is riddled with conflicting emotions; it’s possible he’s missed Max even more than he’s missed playing lacrosse. Nathaniel hides in bed, avoiding everything, but Max is persistent in his efforts at reconciling. The deep bond between them is portrayed with patience, care, and empathy. The sharp, fluid prose propels readers further into Nathaniel’s complex frame of mind as the story is uplifted by its touching characters.
A thoughtful rumination on the power of friendship, trauma, and healing. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 14, 2024
ISBN: 9781250777133
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Godwin Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
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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