A thoughtful tale of finding hope amid life’s trials.
In the first book of a new YA series, Tillit paints a portrait of a Black high school football player struggling to find his own way in life.
As the third member of the Waxman family to play football at Hancock High, Ozzie appears to have it all. He has talent as an offensive and defensive tackle and is a strong candidate to be recruited by a university; indeed, he seems more likely to find success than his father or his brother, Vic, who’s currently the team’s assistant coach. But Ozzie doesn’t love the game as his family members do: “I kept waiting for that same intensity.” This disparity causes Ozzie angst as he navigates high school and his relationship with his girlfriend, Zonta Jones. Although he’s popular, he doesn’t have close friends, aside from high school freshman Vashon Wilkes, whom he’s known for years. He does meet a new student in school, however: an unhoused girl named Lilly Orem. His teammates engage in casual racism: “They threw out comments all the time full of hateful stereotyping. They didn’t hold back. Race, gender, or any trait at all were fair game.” In the interactions of these various characters, Tillit effectively addresses such issues as bigotry, homelessness, and mental health. The author also builds tension as Vic makes Ozzie change positions—a situation for which the teenager doesn’t feel prepared: “I understood how to be perfect with perfect preplanned plays. For me, winging it was impossible.” An unexpected turn of events only intensifies Ozzie’s struggle. Over the course of this novel, Tillit deftly weaves a story of hope into an account of typical high school challenges. Along the way, Ozzie learns who his true friends are, people who are there for him when it counts. The author also includes an authentic police intervention toward the end of the novel. Overall, the story is engaging without being preachy, which will appeal to many YA readers.
A thoughtful tale of finding hope amid life’s trials.Pub Date: June 13, 2022
ISBN: 9781735264219
Page Count: 175
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Oct. 23, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2023
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
BOOK REVIEW
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression.
After surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself.
Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself; her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out; her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply; and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. After spending time in treatment with other young women like her—who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves—Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she "like-likes" but who had pined for Ellis instead. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends. Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a "semifamous" local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. Through intense, diarylike chapters chronicling Charlie's journey, the author captures the brutal and heartbreaking way "girls who write their pain on their bodies" scar and mar themselves, either succumbing or surviving. Like most issue books, this is not an easy read, but it's poignant and transcendent as Charlie breaks more and more before piecing herself back together.
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-93471-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
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