A thoughtful and satisfying blend of magical realism and romance.
A teenage girl navigates high school and plans for her future while dealing with accidental trips back in time in Storms’ YA novel.
On the surface, Penelope Jane “PJ” Ellis is an ordinary high school junior: A diligent and dedicated student, she has a passion for running and is a member of her school’s cross-country team. But belying outward appearances, PJ suffers from severe panic attacks that periodically cause her to slip nine minutes and 53 seconds back in time and experience the same events with slightly different outcomes. As she describes it, “It’s like someone stole a bookmark from my book and returned it to an earlier chapter, so a chapter I already read ends up being overwritten somehow.” The only person who knows is her best friend, Mariana Salvadore, who gives PJ the nickname “Slip” for her ability to travel back in time. When a classmate named Ethan Morrow shows an interest in her, she experiences the joys and nervous excitement that come with a first crush. As their connection becomes romantic, she discovers that she does not slip as much in his presence. Despite her comfort with Ethan, however, her panic attacks and subsequent slipping do not completely disappear, leaving her to wonder if she will ever be able to have a normal relationship. Storms’ novel deftly balances magical realism with a sensitively observed portrait of a teenage girl struggling with debilitating panic attacks. PJ is an amiable and relatable protagonist who tries to maintain a normal life despite her extraordinary ability to slip back in time, and the supporting characters are equally well drawn. Storms is a natural storyteller who seamlessly integrates PJ’s time travel without breaking the narrative’s momentum, as exemplified in a scene early in the novel in which PJ slips back in time and rescues a girl from drowning. The fully dimensional characters and realistic portrait of high school life ground the fantastical elements in reality and bring the story to a strong conclusion.
A thoughtful and satisfying blend of magical realism and romance.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Feb. 28, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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