A well-told holiday tale about family, forgiveness, love, and doing what’s right.
Two formerly close cousins who have drifted apart find themselves on opposing sides of their Indiana hometown’s gentrification—with their family business in the crosshairs.
After his video went viral, Dominique Cole, 17, left Oakrun behind to pursue life as an influencer in New York City. When Oakrun’s mayor reaches out to Dominique with an opportunity that could reinvigorate his struggling career—being the public face of the town’s fancy new hotel—he reluctantly returns. Aspiring journalist Andy Cole, also 17, writes for Oakrun High’s student paper, reporting on issues like the impact of the mayor’s economic policies on local businesses. It’s personal—Cole’s Hardware, which her family has run for over 70 years, will soon close, to be replaced by the boutique hotel chain Dominique is representing, and she’s sure there’s something fishy going on. Both cousins are attempting to help their family; their clashing approaches eventually lead them to reconnect and grow. Sweetly, along the way, the teens, who are Black and queer, each find love in unexpected places. The story unfolds hour-by-hour over the course of New Year’s Day, swiftly but with enough breathing room to explore the complicated ethical tensions at its heart. The ending is a little too neat, but the story’s optimism is its greatest strength, joyfully depicting the power of community care.
A well-told holiday tale about family, forgiveness, love, and doing what’s right. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Dec. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9780374391690
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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