Add in the now-dated Brit-lit feel and the sudden, nonsensical plot twist, and it's all ho-hum.
In this throwback to the early 2000s teen Brit-lit craze, the lives of five young people are affected by an unexpected baby.
It's Olivia's birthday, which means a party. Her best friends, Nicola and Ben, are there, along with her boyfriend, Jonty. Her younger sister, Alice (who reads as though she may be on the spectrum), stays in her room. It's all going well—other than Jonty knocking Olivia about. But then Olivia discovers Nicola moaning in pain in a bathroom: she's delivering a baby, one not even Nicola realized was coming. And the baby is Jonty's. Over the next five months, each of the characters—Olivia, Nicola, Alice, Jonty, and Ben—feels the impact Nicola's baby, Eliza, makes on their group. Olivia moves on from Jonty to a new guy, Alice works to make a friend, and Jonty slowly takes to fatherhood and starts to become a better person. Nicola, of course, must adapt to motherhood—and has a secret to reveal to Ben, who is gay and doesn't know how to react. While the teenage domestic violence subplot could add depth, it’s dealt with too easily. The third-person, present-tense narration alternates focus from character to character (all appear to be white), with too little modulation to give each a clear sense of voice.
Add in the now-dated Brit-lit feel and the sudden, nonsensical plot twist, and it's all ho-hum. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 25, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-94027-6
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Chicken House/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 27, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
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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