A grounded and bittersweet tale with well-developed characters.
In Rosenthal’s YA novel, a teenage girl must figure out how to navigate her relationships with her loved ones, who don’t like each other very much.
Eden Russo, an Italian American 17-year-old living in Brooklyn, has a bit of a complicated family. Her mother died when she was a baby, leaving her with her father, Marty, the owner of a popular Italian restaurant, and her older half brother, Drew, an aspiring lawyer. Although she has a good relationship with both, little affection is lost between Marty and Drew, so Eden is often caught in the middle of their bitter hatred. Her only real confidant? Fellow student Libnah “Libby” King, her feisty best friend, who has a bit of a temper. One day, Libby announces that family friend Shea Dwyer is about to be released from prison after serving time for car theft. She asks Eden to put in a good word for him with her father, hoping that Marty will give Shea a job. Eden is initially reluctant to do so, fearful that Shea’s background as an ex-con could put her father and his business at risk. But when Marty agrees to hire him, she gets to know the attractive Shea and slowly realizes that her stereotypical assumptions have no basis in reality. As he becomes a more important part of her life, she finds herself forced to reckon with her complicated family relationships. Overall, Rosenthal has crafted a story with rich character interactions and an emotional messiness that’s sure to remind readers of their own family members and friends. Although this story isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, a deep sense of hope and a faith in the goodness of humanity underlies everything: “Sometimes, people veer off the right path. That doesn’t mean they can’t get back on it.” Readers will enjoy this book’s acknowledgment that love can be complex and can come in many different forms.
A grounded and bittersweet tale with well-developed characters.Pub Date: Nov. 10, 2026
ISBN: 9798993150307
Page Count: 297
Publisher: Tribeca Press
Review Posted Online: July 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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