A historically intriguing coming-of-age drama, starring a protagonist who discovers a surprising resilience.
A YA novel—based on the traumatic experiences of the author’s mother-in-law—focuses on the Spanish Civil War.
María Luisa Muñoz Morales was born in 1919 in Alcoy, Spain, a small mountain town. Her father is in the Spanish military. After a posting in the southern coastal city of Cádiz, he is promoted to major in 1932, and the family moves to Madrid. Although María suffers from debilitating bouts of severe anxiety, she is beginning to enjoy the excitement of living in a big city. But trouble is brewing in Spain. The Second Spanish Republic, ruled by a left-wing political party, has turned a blind eye to violence against the Roman Catholic Church. The new constitution forbids religious education, and the Republicans are now attacking the clergy and burning churches. The Nationalists, led by Francisco Franco, are organizing a rebellion. María does not know much about the political situation, but her younger brother, Luis, fills her in as they watch their church smoldering. Meanwhile, María’s mother, after giving birth to baby Miguel, is sinking steadily into depression. It is 1936, and María, at 16 years old, finds herself supervising an increasingly incorrigible Luis and caring for Miguel. Suddenly, the family must go into hiding. Secretly, María’s father has been working with the Nationalists. When Papa is arrested, responsibility for the family falls to María. The novel deftly tracks her emotional growth over the next three years, as she develops from a frightened, naïve young girl into a formidable support for her family while the Spanish Civil War rages around her. Duran presents the political complexities of the war in simple, digestible bites for her YA audience. But she is quite specific in her vivid depictions of the fear and deprivations—especially the unrelenting hunger— endured by the citizens of Madrid. Descriptions of the jail, which María repeatedly visits to bring her father food, are frightening. The prose is peppered with Spanish phrases and proverbs (always translated), lending an air of authenticity to the narrative. And there is a special poignancy in María’s struggle to control her overwhelming panic attacks.
A historically intriguing coming-of-age drama, starring a protagonist who discovers a surprising resilience.Pub Date: Dec. 8, 2020
ISBN: 979-8575056096
Page Count: 327
Publisher: Independently Published
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
A standing ovation.
Tackles family secrets, toxic masculinity, and socio-economic differences with incisive clarity and candor.
Camino Rios lives in the Dominican Republic and yearns to go to Columbia University in New York City, where her father works most of the year. Yahaira Rios, who lives in Morningside Heights, hasn’t spoken to her dad since the previous summer, when she found out he has another wife in the Dominican Republic. Their lives collide when this man, their dad, dies in an airplane crash with hundreds of other passengers heading to the island. Each protagonist grieves the tragic death of their larger-than-life father and tries to unravel the tangled web of lies he kept secret for almost 20 years. The author pays reverent tribute to the lives lost in a similar crash in 2001. The half sisters are vastly different—Yahaira is dark skinned, a chess champion who has a girlfriend; Camino is lighter skinned, a talented swimmer who helps her curandera aunt deliver neighborhood babies. Despite their differences, they slowly forge a tenuous bond. The book is told in alternating chapters with headings counting how many days have passed since the fateful event. Acevedo balances the two perspectives with ease, contrasting the girls’ environments and upbringings. Camino’s verses read like poetic prose, flowing and straightforward. Yahaira’s sections have more breaks and urgent, staccato beats. Every line is laced with betrayal and longing as the teens struggle with loving someone despite his imperfections.
A standing ovation. (Verse novel. 14-18)Pub Date: May 5, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-288276-9
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
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