by L.B. Tillit ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 15, 2022
A flawed but affecting portrayal of challenging adolescent realities
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In the second book of Tillit’s The Way I See It YA series, the author introduces a new character facing her own challenges.
Zonta Jones, a biracial teenager with ADHD, navigates the turbulent waters of high school and finds herself caught in a relentless storm of unwanted attention from Carlos, a classmate bent on hooking up with her. Despite her attempts to brush off his incessant scrutiny and advances, he persists, and Zonta grapples with an overwhelming sense of exhaustion from maintaining a facade of perpetual pleasantness: “I was sick of being nice. Or at least trying to be nice and kind and saying the right things to people.” Struggling against societal and family expectations, and gender norms that demand her compliance, Zonta’s frustrations mount as she continues to endure the unwelcome spotlight. Compounding her distress is a recurrent feeling of inadequacy whenever she attempts to articulate her thoughts and emotions, which is partly explained by her having ADHD, which also affects her studies. Each effort to convey her perspective leaves her feeling small and unheard, giving her a profound sense of self-doubt, which ends up compromising the friendships she struggles to build. The author’s series aims to present a mosaic of teenage perspectives as students grapple with the gritty challenges of life at Hancock High, tackling weighty societal issues like poverty, prejudice, abuse, harassment, and racial tensions (the previous installment’s protagonist, Ozzie, makes an appearance here as Zonta’s friend). The prose is basic but effectively captures Zonta’s struggles, and her frustration at being misunderstood is palpable: “My parents were upset. Really upset. And they thought I didn’t know what I was talking about at all. They never did really understand how I saw things.” The open ending feels abrupt and lacks resolution, leaving the narrative somewhat incomplete.
A flawed but affecting portrayal of challenging adolescent realitiesPub Date: July 15, 2022
ISBN: 9781735264226
Page Count: 191
Publisher: My Easy Read Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 30, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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More In The Series
by Ally Condie ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 19, 2023
A high-concept premise that falls short in its execution.
A teenage girl finds herself alone after everyone else in her town mysteriously disappears, leaving her scrambling to figure out how to find them all.
One late summer day, everybody in July Fielding’s town disappears. She is left to piece together what happened, following a series of cryptic signs she finds around town urging her to “GET THEM BACK.” The narrative moves back and forth between July’s present and the events of the summer before, when her relationship with her best friend, cross-country team co-captain Sydney, starts to fracture due to a combination of jealousy over July’s new relationship with a cute boy called Sam and sweet up-and-coming freshman Ella’s threatening to overtake Syd’s status as star of the track team. The team members participate in a ritual in which they jump off a cliff into the rocky waters below at the end of their Friday practice runs. Though Ella is reluctant, Syd pressures her to jump. Short, frenetically paced sections move the story along quickly, and there is much foreshadowing pointing to something terrible that occurred at the end of that summer, which may be the key to July’s current predicament, but there is much misdirection too. Ultimately this is a story without enough setup to make the turn the book takes in the end feel fully developed or earned. All characters read white.
A high-concept premise that falls short in its execution. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2023
ISBN: 9780593327173
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
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by Ally Condie
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by Ally Condie ; illustrated by Jaime Kim
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by David Valdes ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 4, 2022
A great read offering entertainment, encouragement, and plenty to reflect upon.
A gay teen contends with time travel—and homophobia through the decades.
All Cuban American Luis wants is to be prom king with his boyfriend, but tiny upstate New York boarding school Antic Springs Academy, with its strict, Christian code of conduct, won’t even let them hold hands in public. After a disastrous prom committee meeting at which his attempt to make the event welcoming of queer couples is rejected by the principal, Luis gets quite literally knocked into the past—specifically, ASA in the year 1985. There he meets Chaz, a Black student who attended the school at the same time as Luis’ parents and who died under mysterious circumstances after being bullied for his sexuality. Luis now faces a choice between changing the past to help Chaz and preserving his own future existence. Fortunately, he has Ms. Silverthorn, a Black English teacher and beloved mentor, who offers him support in both timelines. The narrative explores the impacts of homophobia and being closeted, remaining optimistic without shying away from the more brutal aspects. Luis is a multifaceted character with an engaging voice whose flaws are confronted and examined throughout. The solid pacing and pleasant, fluid prose make this a page-turner. Luis’ boyfriend is cued as Chinese American, and his best friend is nonbinary; there is some diversity in ethnicity and sexuality in background characters, although the school is predominantly White.
A great read offering entertainment, encouragement, and plenty to reflect upon. (author's note) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0710-5
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
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by David Valdes
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by David Valdes
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