An energetically written but ultimately unpersuasive bit of ’90s nostalgia.
A teenager goes looking for her rogue rock-star mother in Goldberg’s third YA novel in a series.
It’s 2014 in Eugene, Oregon, and Love Marvin is the daughter of grunge-music royalty. Her parents, Nico Sullivan and Evan Marvin, were the creative force behind the 1990s band Evanico. Nico hasn’t been a reliable presence in her daughter’s life since Love was a baby. Now Love is 16 and a grunge fanatic like her two best friends, Frankie and Caden. “I live like the cave people did,” Love brags, referring to her use of a Sports Walkman and flip phone, adding, “Frankie and Caden feel the same and we’ve dubbed our crew 9021-Hole, after two of our fav 90’s cultural touchstones.” Shortly after learning that Nico has gone missing—well, more missing than usual—Love discovers Nico’s old diary in the attic. The girl becomes convinced that it’s the key to finding her mom, and she convinces Evan to let her, Frankie, and Caden take a road trip down the coast to visit Nico’s parents in Los Angeles. Along the way, with the words of her mother in her brain and ’90s music in her ears, Love starts to unravel how she and Nico are similar and different. Goldberg is an undeniably skilled writer, and his prose vibrates with his characters’ vitality: “a woman with a sea of frizzy orange hair the color of Sunkist opens the door with a funky-looking cigarette stamped between her lips and a floating caftan hanging off her thin body.” However, both Nico and Love come off as grating, and neither of their portrayals is terribly convincing. For instance, would Nico really have described her own dresses as “Lilith Fair-esque” in 1998, just a few months after the first Lilith Fair festival? The book may appeal to the many present-day teens who own Nirvana T-shirts, but there’s a flimsiness to the narrative that prevents sincere emotions from taking root.
An energetically written but ultimately unpersuasive bit of ’90s nostalgia.Pub Date: Feb. 9, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-953944-21-4
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Wise Wolf Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Exactly what the title promises.
A grieving teen’s devotion to romance films might ruin her chances at actual romance.
Liz Buxbaum has always adored rom-coms, not least for helping her still feel close to her screenwriter mother, who died when she was little. Liz hopes that her senior year might turn into a real-life romantic fantasy, as an old crush has moved back to town, cuter and nicer than ever. Surely she can get Michael to ask her to prom. If only Wes, the annoying boy next door, would help her with her scheming! This charming, fluffy concoction manages to pack into one goofy plot every conceivable trope, from fake dating to the makeover to the big misunderstanding. Creative, quirky, daydreaming Liz is just shy of an annoying stereotype, saved by a dry wit and unresolved grief and anger. Wes makes for a delightful bad boy with a good heart, and supporting characters—including a sassy best friend, a perfect popular rival, even a (not really) evil stepmother—all get the opportunity to transcend their roles. The only villain here is Liz’s lovelorn imagination, provoking her into foolish lies that cause actual hurt feelings; but she is sufficiently self-aware to make amends just in time for the most important trope of all: a blissfully happy ending. All characters seem to be White by default.
Exactly what the title promises. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6762-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK TO SCREEN
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
© Copyright 2026 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.
