Well-meaning but ultimately unsuccessful.
A high school sophomore discovers that her dreamy new artist boyfriend is suffering from mental illness.
Shy April is devastated when her outgoing and popular best friend abandons her for private school. Enter Jonah, an attractive and charismatic new student. He wins April’s heart by throwing over the resident queen bee in favor of her and inviting her to view his gallery of intense oil paintings. Soon they are inseparable, and April feels even closer to Jonah after he confesses his grief over the recent death of his best friend and his troubled relationship with his distant father. But then April starts noticing that Jonah sometimes seems to see and hear things that aren’t there, which culminates in a terrifying episode where Jonah destroys his own paintings in an attempt to silence the negative voices in his head. When Jonah is given a diagnosis, April is determined to see him through his illness, even at the expense of her own happiness. But for how long? This paint-by-numbers problem novel follows a predictable path that may initially intrigue readers curious about mental illness but will ultimately disappoint with its bromidic dialogue and sluggish pace. Better choices are Inside Out, by Terry Truman (2003), Challenger Deep, by Neal and Brendan Shusterman (2015), or the classic I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, by Joanne Greenburg (1964).
Well-meaning but ultimately unsuccessful. (author’s note) (Fiction. 12-15)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4926-1441-8
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
A somewhat entertaining, fast-paced journey that fizzles at the end.
A teenager runs away to Seattle, hoping to locate her missing sister.
Fifteen-year-old Eleanor idolizes her older sister, Sam, despite their being complete opposites: Sam is outgoing and wild, while socially awkward Eleanor is known as Little Miss Perfect, always doing the right and safe thing. After Sam runs away from home, the only communication she has with Eleanor are three postcards sent from Seattle. Eleanor decides to trace her 18-year-old sister’s footsteps, leaving her messages and hopping on a bus to find her. But when Sam doesn’t meet her at the bus depot, Eleanor, who has no real plan, has to learn how to survive on her own while searching the city for her sister. While the close bond between the girls is well depicted through flashbacks, the reveal of an important secret ultimately feels anticlimactic. A major plot point relies too heavily on chance and coincidence to be fully believable. While the color scheme, cityscapes, and background illustrations are atmospheric, the manga-inspired drawing style comes across as dated and flat. The depiction of the fabricated stories Eleanor tells is intriguing, as are the themes of friendship, living in the moment, and maintaining hope; unfortunately, none are thematically strong enough to resonate. The emotional impact of Eleanor’s experiences is diluted by her at times humorous narration. Eleanor and the main cast read as White.
A somewhat entertaining, fast-paced journey that fizzles at the end. (Graphic novel. 12-15)Pub Date: April 26, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-316-50023-4
Page Count: 280
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Stronger books may exist about the 1960s, but female friendship tales never go out of style.
For “bad girls,” hell can be a place on Earth.
In Houston in the early ’60s, girls only seem to have two choices: be a good girl and get married or be a bad girl and live your life. Fifteen-year-old Evie, from a working-class White family, became a bad girl after her sister’s shotgun wedding took her away from home. Mexican American neighbor Juanita, who smokes, drinks, wears intense eye makeup, and runs with the tough crowd, takes Evie under her wing, but despite the loyalty of this new sisterhood, Evie often feels uncertain of her place. When a rich girl from the wealthy part of town named Diane saves Evie from assault by killing the attacker, Evie finds a new friend and, through that friendship, discovers her own courage. This work borrows a few recognizable beats from S.E. Hinton’s 1967 classic, The Outsiders—class tensions, friendship, death, and a first-person narrative that frequently employs the word tuff—but with a gender-swapped spin. Overall, the novel would have benefited from a stronger evocation of the setting. During an era of societal upheaval, Evie struggles to reconcile her frustration at the limited roles defined for her and her friends, with many moments of understanding and reflection that will resonate with modern readers’ sensibilities—although sadly she still victim blames herself for the attempted assault.
Stronger books may exist about the 1960s, but female friendship tales never go out of style. (author's note, resources) (Historical fiction. 12-15)Pub Date: Oct. 19, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-23258-8
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
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