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
A prototypical survival story: after an airplane crash, a 13-year-old city boy spends two months alone in the Canadian wilderness. In transit between his divorcing parents, Brian is the plane's only passenger. After casually showing him how to steer, the pilot has a heart attack and dies. In a breathtaking sequence, Brian maneuvers the plane for hours while he tries to think what to do, at last crashing as gently and levelly as he can manage into a lake. The plane sinks; all he has left is a hatchet, attached to his belt. His injuries prove painful but not fundamental. In time, he builds a shelter, experiments with berries, finds turtle eggs, starts a fire, makes a bow and arrow to catch fish and birds, and makes peace with the larger wildlife. He also battles despair and emerges more patient, prepared to learn from his mistakes—when a rogue moose attacks him and a fierce storm reminds him of his mortality, he's prepared to make repairs with philosophical persistence. His mixed feelings surprise him when the plane finally surfaces so that he can retrieve the survival pack; and then he's rescued. Plausible, taut, this is a spellbinding account. Paulsen's staccato, repetitive style conveys Brian's stress; his combination of third-person narrative with Brian's interior monologue pulls the reader into the story. Brian's angst over a terrible secret—he's seen his mother with another man—is undeveloped and doesn't contribute much, except as one item from his previous life that he sees in better perspective, as a result of his experience. High interest, not hard to read. A winner.
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1987
ISBN: 1416925082
Page Count: -
Publisher: Bradbury
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1987
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
