A fluffy summer read with G-rated heterosexual romances.
What if you said “yes” to absolutely everything?
Rachel Walls spent her entire high school career completely focused on academics and “purposely cultivating total anonymity.” Her hard work has made her valedictorian, but she’s also missed out on lots of typical teenage experiences. When Rachel finds a book about the power of saying “yes,” she takes it as a sign, and in the months before she starts college, she embarks on a “summer of yes.” Can Rachel figure out how to say “yes” to her longtime crush as well as an old family friend and verbal sparring partner? Or are there consequences to saying “yes” blindly? The breezy plot starts with a graduation and finishes with a predictably happy ending. In between there are days filled with a lakeside picnic, couch cuddling, and endless pizza and ice cream. Rachel’s season of exploration is dramatic only in comparison to the rest of her life. The serviceable plot is held together by a compelling cast of supporting characters, most notably Rachel’s spirited Nonna and her loving blended family. Unfortunately, the protagonist herself lacks dimension, with Rachel’s main characteristics being her work ethic and a deep-seated fear of making a mistake that will follow her forever. Most characters are white; there is passing mention of diversity in secondary characters.
A fluffy summer read with G-rated heterosexual romances. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 12, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-399-55231-1
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Feb. 4, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
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
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
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