by Lisa Roberts Carter ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 28, 2024
A familiar story that glimmers with potential.
A teen with lofty dreams is inspired by poetry and the community that helps him find his voice.
Although high school senior Mason Zy’Aire Tyndall has serious aspirations of being a rap star, determined “to fight to keep from becoming another hashtag,” he must juggle this ambition and determination with making sure he graduates on time. Down to the wire and needing an elective to fulfill his requirements, Mason ends up with a teacher he’s initially skeptical of: “A Caucasian teacher teaching a Black poetry class / Just don’t feel right.” But the space creates an additional pathway of creativity for him that becomes important to explore after a Black man is murdered by a police officer only a few miles away. This tragedy sparks community protest, and Mason, who later has his own encounter with the police, experiments with expressing the power of his voice. Despite feeling somewhat forced at times, Carter’s debut teems with vulnerability and shows a deep reverence for hip-hop, a genre that’s grounded in protest. The theme (and spirit) of activism is palpable, and the book includes a section of poems titled after popular hashtags that memorialize primarily Black men and boys killed by the police. At times the language and references seem dated, reflecting a missed opportunity to speak to young readers through their own colloquialisms and generation of rappers. The diverse supporting characters provide healthy tension for the story.
A familiar story that glimmers with potential. (Verse fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: May 28, 2024
ISBN: 9781771683609
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Central Avenue Publishing
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
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by Adam Silvera ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 6, 2025
Raw, delicate, and deeply caring.
When Death-Cast doesn’t call, fate intertwines the lives of two boys, both haunted by their pasts and with futures they can’t escape.
In this third installment of the series that opened with 2017’s They Both Die at the End, Paz Dario waits every night for Death-Cast to call—as it should have for his father nearly 10 years ago, when Paz shot him to save his mother’s life. But the call never comes. Death-Cast killed Paz’s dreams of an acting career: No one will hire him now because the world sees him as a villain. When Paz tries (not for the first time) to put an end to his suffering, an unexpected encounter with Alano Rosa, the heir of Death-Cast, stops him. Both in a place of desperation, Alano and Paz sign a contract to live for Begin Days instead of waiting for their End Days. As suspenseful and emotionally wrenching as the previous titles in the series, this new installment explores heavy themes of abuse, mental health, self-harm, and suicide. Paz grapples with a recent diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. Silvera surrounds Alano and Paz with a web of complex relationships. Although the protagonists fall fast for one another and form a deep connection over Alano’s desire to support Paz, Silvera emphasizes the importance of professional help. Both Alano and Paz have Puerto Rican heritage. The cliffhanger ending promises more to come.
Raw, delicate, and deeply caring. (content warning, resources) (Speculative fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780063240858
Page Count: 720
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
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by Daniel Aleman ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 4, 2021
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
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