Philosophical quibbles aside, readers will find it hard to put down this suspenseful, scary, compulsively readable...
While the world outside succumbs to a fast-moving plague of horrific violence, Katie’s Amish community remains intact and at peace—for now.
Katie’s been looking forward to venturing into the wider world and sampling its pleasures with Elijah, whom she expects to marry. Rumspringa, the Amish-youth rite of passage, won’t happen this year. Instead, their own world’s invaded, heralded by a helicopter crash in a cornfield. Trying to free the pilot, Katie is shaken to see glowing red eyes amid the smoking wreckage. An outsider family friend brings news of more catastrophes. Seeking Elijah's missing brothers in town, Katie and Elijah find it perplexingly abandoned. Although elders have decreed no one may enter or leave their community, when she discovers a Canadian outsider on the verge of death, Katie risks everything to save his life. Readers will find the misuse of “eh” jarring. (Canadians don’t start sentences with “eh,” but tack it onto the end for interrogative emphasis.) More importantly, the opposing forces feel mismatched. “What is good?” begs the question, “What is evil?” While Katie questions the faith and traditions she was raised with and wrestles with tough ethical dilemmas, her mindlessly rule-bound antagonists simply wreak senseless violence.
Philosophical quibbles aside, readers will find it hard to put down this suspenseful, scary, compulsively readable adventure, which has a companion title coming in 2013. (Horror. 12 & up)Pub Date: Sept. 25, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-547-85926-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Graphia
Review Posted Online: July 24, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2012
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
Exactly what the title promises.
A grieving teen’s devotion to romance films might ruin her chances at actual romance.
Liz Buxbaum has always adored rom-coms, not least for helping her still feel close to her screenwriter mother, who died when she was little. Liz hopes that her senior year might turn into a real-life romantic fantasy, as an old crush has moved back to town, cuter and nicer than ever. Surely she can get Michael to ask her to prom. If only Wes, the annoying boy next door, would help her with her scheming! This charming, fluffy concoction manages to pack into one goofy plot every conceivable trope, from fake dating to the makeover to the big misunderstanding. Creative, quirky, daydreaming Liz is just shy of an annoying stereotype, saved by a dry wit and unresolved grief and anger. Wes makes for a delightful bad boy with a good heart, and supporting characters—including a sassy best friend, a perfect popular rival, even a (not really) evil stepmother—all get the opportunity to transcend their roles. The only villain here is Liz’s lovelorn imagination, provoking her into foolish lies that cause actual hurt feelings; but she is sufficiently self-aware to make amends just in time for the most important trope of all: a blissfully happy ending. All characters seem to be White by default.
Exactly what the title promises. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6762-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK TO SCREEN
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